Charlie Crouse Class Of 2013
Biography
I am incredibly lucky to experience such a varied, impactful career thus far. As an Intelligence Officer, I led operations, global airlift, and ISR collection and analysis for every combatant command. My final role before separating was Cryptologic Assistant Director of Operations for Air Force’s largest flying squadron.
After the Air Force, I began my space industry journey, leading new business growth for a nearly $8 billion line of business at Lockheed Martin Space. After several years at LM, I managed all new business efforts at True Anomaly to improve our national counterspace and rapid space capabilities. I am currently the Business Development and Sales Lead at Advanced Space, a premier space-enabling company specializing in cislunar development and enhancing other domains for a wide variety of customers, including NASA, IARPA, AFRL Space Force, and international partners.
I also achieved a Master's in Intelligence and MBA to augment my analysis and financial acumen while better serving the incredible teams I have led.
I have non-profit, public, and private Boards of Director experience and constantly volunteer and mentor, to include international organizations like AIAA, WorldDenver, and Denver International Airport, all while mentoring cadets, young officers, and aerospace professionals on their career trajectories.
Candidacy Statement
The AOG has been fundamental to my professional development and networking. From AOG-run events to supporting me and so many other cadets and graduates, I am grateful to be involved with such a premier organization.
However, while the graduate experience has improved in recent years, especially with networking opportunities, the AOG still lacks relevance for a wide swath of graduates, especially across the more recent decades. This is evidenced not only by the low voting percentages in Board of Director elections for more recent classes, but also intra- and inter-class engagement and networking.
To bring all our world-class graduates into the fold, and ensure active participation for future generations, this must change. A more varied Air Force in terms of career paths and backgrounds (and a still-nascent Space Force set to grow) means we must ensure we are providing the best possible leadership development, networking, and support to graduates, while serving and well beyond service. This is even more critical with increasing geopolitical competition globally.
With previous board experience, love for mentoring, marketing capability, as well as major team and individual successes, I will ensure the AOG only grows in relevance, ensuring a better USAFA far into the future.