Today’s episode is a conversation with two outfit commanders, James Wilkey from G-1 and Kyle Pate from Squadron 16. They’re both good friends of mine and some of the best commanders I know. I wanted to sit down with them to talk about their experience with Corps leadership at an outfit level. These gents have great wisdom to offer and plenty to learn from their experience.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

1:04 James and Kyle introductions

2:41 big picture lessons learned as COs

5:20 things we learned from guys who came before us

8:48 when is it appropriate to push back on staff decisions?

13:42 how do you get into Corps leadership?

20:23 transfer leadership vs (almost) triple crown leadership

26:16 staying involved when you aren’t in leadership

31:36 James - “Take every opportunity. Leave the Corps with no regrets”

34:00 Kyle - “The Corps is what you make it. Always stay improving”

36: 50 last question (but we keep yapping)

Today we’re talking with some cadets about how to improve your outfit’s presence on social media and making quality content. My guests today are Bentley Miller '25, who runs the Wing PR, and Liam Snyder '25, the PR Offer for Squadron 8. Our special guest today is the admin for the instagram account Newcorpsder. You probably know them for the Old Army edits and work they’ve done with units like Det 805, SEAL Platoon, and the Marksmanship Unit. This podcast is a bit long and can get in the weeds sometimes, but there’s a lot of gold in here. We talked about everything from the software and techniques these guys use, to the philosophy behind what you’re presenting on social media and the messaging we put forward as the Corps.

Timestamps:0:00 introduction

1:18 random who’s who, newcorpsder introduction

3:20 newcorpsder talks behind the scenes

5:54 setting goals for social media

7:05 how often should I be posting?

8:25 getting a video taken down :(

9:20 working with Corps media

12:20 “Be Proud”

13:47 why do you post what you do?

23:09 newcorpsder unites the corps (unintentionally)

25:51 corps controversies (women in the corps??)

28:50 how do you keep the audience engaged in a post/video?

34:54 why the length of the videos?

35:51 vertical or nah?

36:55 what platforms should you be on?

41:36 what gear do you need?

45:06 which outfits are crushing PR?

48:13 final advice and thoughts

51:05 last question (and a Ms. Frizzle tangent that was too funny to cut)

Today we sit down with Jake Kielty and Travis Griffing, the 2024-2025 Regimental buttpots for Corps Bonfire! We spent our time talking about how Corps Bonfire operates, what the culture and work environment of bonfire is, how these guys are working to change the Corps’ perspective on Bonfire, and what serving such a unique tradition means to them. I came from an outfit with no Bonfire involvement, so this conversation was a huge learning experience for me. These guys and the work they do with Corps Bonfire have a whole new level of respect from me. If you’re interested at all, I would highly recommend you reach out to these guys. You can contact them through the Corps Bonfire instagram pages, or their personal cell numbers. First Cut is Sunday September 1st and it’s not an event you’re going to want to miss.