After a year in command, it might seem early to think about the next assignment. But the higher you go in the Army, the more those decisions start to shape the rest of your trajectory. In this episode, I wrestle with a tension I didn’t expect to feel this strongly.

For most of my career, the assumption was simple: if you want to influence the Army, you climb as high as possible. More rank means more authority, and more authority means more ability to shape outcomes.

But spending time at the O-6 level has complicated that idea.

Colonels sit in a strange position. They are close enough to the problem to understand it in detail, but senior enough to shape decisions before they reach the general officer. The authority might sit at the top, but the analysis, the modeling, and the framing of options often happens a level below.

Which raises a question I’m still working through.

If the goal is to make meaningful change, is climbing higher always the right answer? Or is there a point where the real influence actually lives somewhere else in the system?

In this episode, I explore the tension between continuing up the promotion path and recognizing the unique influence that exists at the colonel level. It’s a tradeoff between authority and proximity, between visibility and freedom to operate.

And like most leadership decisions, the answer probably isn’t clean.