Barqawi
"Back in Kuwait there are people coming in and out of your house all of the time; you know all of your neighbors and extended family. Having that social network is phenomenal and is such a fulfillment -- that's something that I'd love to bring here from the Middle East," Barqawi said.
ASCENDING TO LEADERSHIP
When he topped the regimental chart during his senior year, he was ready to make institutional changes to the corps' training and leadership model.
"In some cases there was a lot of resistance to the new approach," Barqawi said. "There is this typical mentality to what military training should be."
The rewards the corps has seen are greater numbers of freshmen staying on through the difficult initial training phase, a marked increase in pride and a generally better attitude among the corps' members.
"Our retention standards are the best they've ever been. We normally have about 20 to 25 percent attrition by the six-week point (in the semester)," Barqawi said of the number of incoming Corps members who leave the institution. "That's dropped to 12 or 15 percent."
"As a company commander, I didn't lose a single person (from my company) by the six-week mark and through the semester. Partly, I'd attribute that to this new training approach," Smith said.
As a company commander and then as the commander of the entire regiment, Barqawi built cadets up rather than using them as parts in a machine, Gaddis said.
"I have a wife and daughter. He's always been very considerate of peoples' situations; he always came by on a regular basis and asked, 'Hey, how are you doing? How's your daughter doing? How's your wife?' It was the same for other battalion commanders as well," Gaddis said.
The tide of opinion turned in Barqawi's favor after the corps saw a significant increase in motivation, initiative and "esprit de corps" -- as noted by the commandant and other corps officers.
"One of his greatest strengths is his ability to motivate cadets to take on tough challenges and to strive for excellence," Allen said.
Barqawi said he found his faith in his convictions rewarded over time, despite initial resistance.
"Once you get to that kind of leadership position, like regimental commander, it's no longer a popularity contest," Barqawi said. "What really amazed me is the amount of respect a system earns as you go forward, as you see the rewards."
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