US SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND - KARL KLICKER

Hello Max ,

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I retired as a mustang Captain of Marines in 1995 and spent seven years in the private sector as a training manager or director – at General Motors, NASA, and ENRON. When I was laid off from ENRON in Dec. 2001, MEA was a lifeline for possible job opportunities. (I had a colleague at Camp Pendleton – a retired colonel with whom I had served at Parris Island in the early 1980s, when he was a lieutenant and I was a staff sergeant... who connected me to MEA). With his advice in 2001 (post-ENRON), I started a consulting business in Houston, offering seminars in Leadership, Conflict Management, Time Management, etc., and got the word out on this through contacts in MEA, the Marine4Life program and other venues.

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As the world turns... I was recalled to active duty in 2005 as the “oldest captain in the Marine Corps.” I was 50. As an 0202 – with a doctorate in education and experience in training program management at the enterprise level with GM, NASA and ENRON, I paid my dues as “Dean of Academics” at the Marine Detachment / Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center, Dam Neck – Virginia Beach. I then had the opportunity for an “individual augmentee” assignment with 2d Intel Battalion at MNF-W, FOB Fallujah, in Iraq, Sept 2006 – March 2007, while Anbar province was Iraq’s “wild wild west.”

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I “re-retired” in March 2008, and picked up a contractor job at US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) – thanks to a clue from MEA. I’ve since worked in support of SOCOM’s Civil Affairs proponent, in Inter-Agency coordination, and most recently in SOCOM’s J5 – Strategic Planning Division.

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My goal is to retire into business as a publisher. I’ve spent the past four years learning this business with my own modest books, learning how to format for Kindle and Nook e-reader books, navigating intellectual property law, book design, business planning, marketing and how to re-format both books for print. The “Flagship” of this learning enterprise is my third book, “INDOC,” which is available now in print at https://www.createspace.com/4362058.

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INDOC (Indoctrination) explores the social psychology of recruiting and indoctrination for war – jihad – in both the Marine Corps and radical Islam, and the internal cultural divisions in both: the Sunni-Shi’a divide evident in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, etc., and the cultural turmoil in the US armed forces brought on by technology, the push to allow women in the combat arms, and the repeal of “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell.”

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The first two books: TESTED BY FIRE is Marine Corps leadership wrapped around grilling recipes. Every recipe is a metaphor for a leadership principle. This book is available in print at https://www.createspace.com/4300548, or for Kindle readers at http://www.amazon.com/Tested-Fire-Recipes-Metaphors-ebook/dp/B008I3NKP8/.

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MERATHON explores the leadership failures of ENRON, in part by holding ENRON’s leaders up to the standards of Marine Corps leadership traits and principles. Other metaphors include “running marathons.” (It takes focus and determination to run a marathon… or to run a global corporation.) I’ve since run the Marine Marathon four times, Boston twice, Houston seven times, 10 other marathons, a couple of ultras, sprint triathlons, and several 5K and 10K races. I ran the Marine Marathon at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq in 2006, and before she was killed by an IED in Ramadi in December 2006 – worked with Major Megan McClung to import the Houston Marathon to Fallujah in January 2007. (The book INDOC is dedicated to Megan; $1 from the sale of each copy of INDOC will be donated to the Megan McClung Memorial Scholarship Foundation.) MERATHON is available in print at https://www.createspace.com/4304056, and for Kindle at: http://www.amazon.com/MERATHON-ebook/dp/B00BE5YJZ2/.

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(MERATHON and Tested by Fire are also available for B&N NOOK, with a key word search (title and “Klicker”) and for I-Pad / I-Pod with a free Kindle app.)

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Kind regards, and oo-rah -

Karl