Caroline Johnson '09
 
She began her military career at the United States Naval Academy in 2005, bristling against the strict rules but loving the friends she met along the way. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Economics in 2009, she joined the elite Naval Aviation community and began flight school in Pensacola, FL. 

In 2011, she was awarded her wings of gold and designated a Naval Flight Officer, more specifically an F/A-18 Weapons Systems Officer. Finishing at the top of her class she was awarded the Paul F. Lawrence award as the #1 strike fighter graduate and recognized as the overall Top Graduate.

Caroline flew in F/A-18 Super Hornets as a member of VFA-213 the World Famous Fighting Blacklions and she embarked on the USS George H.W. Bush, deploying for 9 months in 2014. On her historic deployment, Caroline and the Blacklions flew in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Inherent Resolve seeing action in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

Her squadron employed the first weapons on ISIS in Iraq, conducted the first ever US strikes into Syria, and Caroline was the first woman to neutralize ISIS from the backseat of an F/A-18. At the Blacklions, Caroline completed her SFWT level II, III, and IV qualifications, she earned her Combat Mission Commander designation, and she also graduated with honors from the University of Oklahoma with a Master of Arts in Administrative Leadership.

During her final tour on active duty, Caroline returned to the United States Naval Academy, where she taught leadership and recruited the next generation of aviators as the Aviation Operations Officer. Currently in the Navy Reserves, Caroline co

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

Connect with Grant on Linkedin
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If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: [email protected].

Katie Ann (Higgins) Cook

Katie who is a 2008 graduate of the Naval Academy, joins the podcast while serving as a United States Marine out of Houston, Texas.  She was in the 13th Company and a political science major with a minor in Spanish. She was a member of the women's swimming team.

Katie has a deep connection to the Naval Academy as her father, uncle, brother and sister-in-law are all academy grads.  She was selected to the United States Marine Corps Aviation community out of the academy and ultimately ended up flying the C 130.

After flying combat missions in Afghanistan, she tells us the story of her applying for the elite Blue Angels demonstration team and how she was selected.  She gives us a candid look behind the curtain of the difficulties of being a woman in a male dominated environment as well as the look at what an amazing experience being in the Blue Angels is.  She shares some hilarious stories.

I have to ask her about how she ended up being a guest on the popular show "The Bachelor" which I love (she was not there as one of the women competing to date/marry the bachelor) and she gives us some behind the scenes perspective on "Pilot Pete" and that show.

This is a great episode with an incredibly bright, funny and wise Marine Officer.  We learn so much about Marine Aviation, the Blue Angels, life and leadership.  She has an incredible message and I was inspired by her and her story.

Katie's message is incredibly motivational and I encourage you to share this episode with others especially people feeling alone in a situation.

Invite Katie into your event to discuss stories of her success in mostly male dominated professions and fields; the United States Marine Corps and Naval Aviation. Hear her stories and recommendations of how diversity and inclusion can help your organization or group excel in the 21st centur

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

Connect with Grant on Linkedin
Academy Insider Website
Academy Insider Facebook Page

If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: [email protected].

Brigade Boxing

I'm joined by Stephanie Simon who is a class of 17 graduate from the United States Naval Academy and currently serves as a United States Marine Corps Officer. Stephanie was a general science major at the academy.

Stephanie is the best if not one of the best boxers in Naval Academy history. She's a three time national champion, a two time brigade champion, and then, on top of all of that, she was also a member of the varsity track and field team and the glee club. This is one of the most impressive people that you will ever meet. As you listen to her, you'll also realize she's one of the wisest, most articulate, well thought out and well intentioned people that you will ever meet.

Stephanie breaks down how the Brigade Championships work and her experience in the Brigade Championships and National Championships.

I ask her about the inspiration she provides others and she tells us about how Sixty Minutes covered Navy Boxing and featured her.

Be sure to review and subscribe to The Academy Insider with Grant Vermeer podcast on Apple Podcasts or where you listen to podcasts.

Follow the Academy Insider on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

Connect with Grant on Linkedin
Academy Insider Website
Academy Insider Facebook Page

If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: [email protected].

My guest is author Ricky Conlin.  Ricky returns to the podcast as one of my most popular guests ever.  He is a proud member of the mighty class of 1999, was an economics major and a member of the sixth company.

Ricky describes himself as a very mediocre midshipman. He graduated smack dab in the middle of the class militarily and was relatively quiet. He did stand 14 days of collective restrictions. He played varsity football at the Naval Academy. He describes his football career also as mediocre but is a really, really proud member of the Navy Football Brotherhood and has friends from there to this day that he keeps in touch with.

He graduated, served as an officer and eventually became a novelist. Ricky has had the opportunity to write all about his Naval Academy experience in the first book of his trilogy The Black N. 

In this episode, he shares with us his second book in the trilogy - Sex in The Hall.

We share a lot of really entertaining and funny stories from the book that portrays real midshipman life, and he also gets the opportunity to talk about his motivation and driving purpose for writing this book, which I think you will really enjoy and is very noble.

Ricky is thoughtful, funny and a proud graduate of the academy that lets readers with his fictional novels behind the scenes of the midshipmen life in a way I have not seen in other writing.

His book The Black N is a must-read for those who love stories set at the naval academy with a little edge to the story. 

This book, Sex in the Hall which I describe as a little spicy is not for G rated reading but is a "must read" for those who don't have that restriction.  A little synopsis from Amazon is:

The U.S. Naval Academy was not an easy place to be a woman in the mid-nineties. Iterative progress two decades removed from female integration was hardly enough to transition a century-plus old fraternity into a modern era, co-ed leadership factory. Enter Mick McGee and Summer Harris, two junior midshipmen from the class of 99’ left struggling to find their relationship identity without losing their individual identities in the process. Ricky Conlin continues his Black N Trilogy with its second volume.

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

Connect with Grant on Linkedin
Academy Insider Website
Academy Insider Facebook Page

If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: [email protected].

In this episode, I'm joined by Captain L. David Marquet who is a class of 1981 graduate from the United States Naval Academy.  Captain Marquet was a Physics major at the academy and a member of the Fencing Team and 27th Company.

In this episode, we discuss leadership through the lens of his time at the academy, his time in the fleet and his subsequent career as a New York Times best selling author, keynote speaker, and leadership consultant.

He has just released his new book Leadership is Language which is currently #1 in its category on Amazon. Marquet outlines a set of principles and tools that help leaders inspire their people to take responsibility and address challenges without waiting to be told what to do, highlighting how small changes in language can lead to dramatic changes in a team's success and happiness.

I read Captain Marquet's first book Turn The Ship Around and became a big fan.  I feel so very privileged to sit down and talk with an author I admire so much.


He is highly intelligent, provocative and entertaining.  He shares great stories from his time at the academy and the fleet to illustrate the lessons he shares with us.


In 1981, David graduated top of his class from the U.S. Naval Academy—an institute renowned for developing “leaders to serve the nation.” Thereafter, he joined the submarine force.

Captain Marquet began treating his crew as leaders, not followers, and giving control, not taking control. It wasn’t long before operations took a dramatic turn. Santa Fe went from “worst to first,” achieving the highest retention and operational standings in the Navy.

When Stephen R. Covey spent time aboard the Santa Fe, he referred to it as the most empowering organization he’d ever seen. He wrote about Captain Marquet’s leadership practices in his book, The 8th Habit.

After Captain Marquet’s departure from the USS Santa Fe, it continued to win awards and promote more offic

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

Connect with Grant on Linkedin
Academy Insider Website
Academy Insider Facebook Page

If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: [email protected].

I'm joined by Jarred Reid-Dixon who is a class of 17 graduate from the United States Naval Academy and currently serves as a Supply Officer in the United States Navy. Jarred is from a big military family with both his parents in the US Air Force.  His brother is a United States Marine and his sister is an Officer in the Navy and also a USNA grad.  JRD was an economics major at the academy, 19th company, the captain of the cheer team and was the "anchorman" of the class.

In 2017, the leadership of the academy asked JRD to modernize the ship selection night event and he did.  He brought in DJs, walk down songs, hashtags and more to make it a real celebration for SWO selectees.

In this episode, Jarred takes us through the what the night is like for Mids and much of the behind the scenes stuff that parents never see.

It's an informative and casual episode. It provides a sneak-peek into this evolving tradition at the academy.

Links mentioned on the show:  AN Shine's Book - A USNA Mom's Journal 

Be sure to review and subscribe to The Academy Insider with Grant Vermeer podcast on Apple Podcasts or where you listen to podcasts.

Follow the Academy Insider on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

Connect with Grant on Linkedin
Academy Insider Website
Academy Insider Facebook Page

If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: [email protected].

I'm joined again by my guest in episode #023 Rob Roy who is a class of 2011 graduate from the United States Naval Academy.   He is a Navy pilot and currently serves as on the Commandant's staff at the Academy as the conduct officer. Rob was in the 9th Company. 
Rob and my conversation on this episode has nothing to do with conduct and all about ADVENTURE. 

Rob loves the outdoors and shares his passion and the why behind it.  He is a fellow podcaster and he has a GREAT podcast called The Adventure Bound Podcast with Rob Roy.

We talk about his podcast and how Midshipmen have so many opportunities to take advantage of some amazing outdoor adventures.

This episode will answer your questions about what are some of the things available to Mids who love the outdoors and have the adventure-bound spirit like Rob.

Rob provides some great tips and ideas and will inspire you to plan that trip now to get away and take in the fresh air, nature, and the wilderness.

This is a great episode to understand some of the less traditional leadership opportunities for Midshipmen.  You will get to know Rob even better in this episode and you will have another person you feel you know on the yard.

Listen and subscribe to Rob's Podcast now. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventure-bound/id1464306524

Listen to Grant and Rob discuss the USNA Conduct System on Episode #023 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/023-the-naval-academy-conduct-system-with-rob-roy-11/id1463594323?i=1000461427251

Be sure to review and subscribe to The Academy Insider with Grant Vermeer podcast on Apple Podcasts or where you listen to podcasts.

Follow the Academy Insider on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

Connect with Grant on Linkedin
Academy Insider Website
Academy Insider Facebook Page

If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: [email protected].

I'm joined by Rob Roy who is a class of 2011 graduate from the United States Naval Academy.   He is a Navy pilot and currently serves as on the Commandant's staff at the Academy as the conduct officer. Rob was in the 9th Company.  

One of the unique aspects about life at the Naval Academy is we do have a conduct system, and it's not just for big things. We talk midshipmen regulations, which could be things as simple as having a haircut that's out of regulations or not shaving that day. 

We talk about why the conduct system is the way it is, why it's important, and I think at the end of the day, once you do get a little perspective, we talk about the really positive aspects of why we have a conduct system. 

This episode will answer your questions about what the conduct system is and different unique aspects of the conduct system. We explain terms like getting "fried" and what an adjudication is. We'll talk about tours and demerits and all the things that you may have questions about regarding the conduct system at the Naval Academy.

Be sure to review and subscribe to The Academy Insider with Grant Vermeer podcast on Apple Podcasts or where you listen to podcasts.

Follow the Academy Insider on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

Rob's Podcast - Adventure Bound - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventure-bound/id1464306524

Rob's Adventure Bound Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/adventureboundpod

Rob's Book Recommendation:  Set for Life by Scott Trench 

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

Connect with Grant on Linkedin
Academy Insider Website
Academy Insider Facebook Page

If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: [email protected].

In this episode, I'm joined by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff who is a class of 1982 graduate from the United States Naval Academy.  Captain Abrashoff was a Political Science major at the academy and a member of the 29th Company.

In this episode, we discuss leadership through the lens of his time at the academy, his time in the fleet and his subsequent career as a New York Times best selling author, keynote speaker, and leadership consultant.

Mike Abrashoff is at the center of one of the most remarkable modern-day stories of organizational transformation.  

At 36, he was selected to be Commander of USS Benfold and was the most junior commanding officer in the Pacific fleet.   The challenges of this underachieving destroyer were staggering, with low morale and the highest turnover rate in the Navy.  Few thought the ship could improve. Yet 12 months later it was ranked #1 in performance -- using the same crew.  How did Mike do it?  By replacing command and control leadership with commitment and cohesion.

The lesson was clear:  Leadership matters and culture is everything. 

Since leaving the Navy, Captain Abrashoff has worked with over 1200 organizations instilling leadership initiatives at every level – achieving phenomenal change in unexpected places.  Leaders especially identify with Mike being accountable for results in an environment where he couldn’t make the rules.  He focused on the one thing he could influence: his crew’s attitude, because culture is the ultimate competitive weapon for any organization.  That’s why Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and others have cited his story.  It’s also why he is so popular with such a wide range of audiences. 

I read Captain Abrashoff's book It's Your Ship while I was at the academy before being a summer detailer and it transformed my view on leadership.  I feel so very privileged to sit down and talk with one of the leaders and authors I admire so much.


He is bright, insightful and entertaining.  He shares great stories from his time at the academy and the fleet to illustrate the lessons he shares with us.


I encourage everyone to order an

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

Connect with Grant on Linkedin
Academy Insider Website
Academy Insider Facebook Page

If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: [email protected].

In this episode, your host Grant Vermeer speaks with United States Navy Officer Rebecca Richmond '16 about what it is like as a midshipman in the 13th Company tradition of running the game ball to the stadium.

Rebecca who is a 2016 graduate of the Naval Academy, joins the podcast while serving as a Navy pilot out of Virginia Beach flying the E2-C. She was in the 13th Company and a systems engineering major with an focus in robotics. She was a member of the women's varsity basketball team and is from Boulder, Colorado.

Rebecca takes us through all that goes into 13th Company planning and executing this important mission.

You get the "insider" information about the ball run from Rebecca who participated in the run as a member of the 13th Company.

Go Navy!!  Beat Army!!

Be sure to review and subscribe to The Academy Insider with Grant Vermeer podcast on iTunes or where you listen to podcasts.

Follow the Academy Insider on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

Connect with Grant on Linkedin
Academy Insider Website
Academy Insider Facebook Page

If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: [email protected].