Growing up in a small town in Texas allowed me many freedoms. I played outside with little supervision or worry, my bike had as much right to be on the country roads as any car, and I got the opportunity to be an imaginative kid where anything was possible. Sure, the likes and comments still came in real time in that day and age, but the generally mixed reviews on everything from my glasses to my clothing didn’t sit on a server somewhere, and I oft found myself appreciating that there was no share button that anyone could press.
Having mostly survived the rigors of being a teenager, in my infinite wisdom as a junior in high school, I was certain of three things: I would go to college at the University of Texas, become an orthopedic surgeon, and live in Austin until the end of my days.
Turns out that my wisdom wasn’t so infinite. I was recruited by the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) to play football, and that singular decision to join the Air Force proved to bear endless fruit even to this day. I met my amazing wife, who continues to serve the nation faithfully, and we have managed to raise a beautiful family throughout the various moves and training.
When I reported to USAFA in Colorado Springs as a young cadet, one of the first things I was handed was a book called Contrails. This book contains information that a freshman (four-degree) must learn, but perhaps the most important are the Air Force core values: Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence in All We Do.
Like every cadet, I memorized the information in the book (well, most of it), and I could recite information on command, whether on a “leisurely” sprint around the terrazzo on my way to class or while in the front-leaning rest. What I did not appreciate at the time was that I would spend the rest of my life learning what those 10 words truly meant.
On September 11, 2001, I vividly remember the sirens, alarms, and announcements that sent the entire campus into a state of high alert. As we were given the order to meet in one of the halls, my class sat nervous and anxious with our emotions swirling.
I’m not sure patriotism was one of the initial feelings that I experienced, but there was an intense atmosphere in that room that I had never felt, nothing that any football game could have matched. We listened intently to the details that we were given. Although no one said much as we departed, it was clear that things had just become real.
Graduation was a not-too-distant reality, and it was now more evident than before that we were not there to simply play soldier. There was a real enemy with intentions of harming Americans, including the U.S. military, including our families, including us. We had a renewed focus on the job at hand, and for perhaps the first time since I had entered the Academy grounds, I understood that I would not be leaving this “campus” and stepping into a mere job like my friends at other universities.
Integrity First
After graduating from the Academy, I was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia to train as a Communications (aka Cyber Operations) Officer. As a young officer, I was responsible for a large number of airmen and extremely valuable military assets.
Upon entry into the career field, the goal is for new officers to get as much exposure as possible to the various units within a squadron. That said, for the next several years I was tasked with leading many teams, including operating and protecting the base information technology infrastructure, assisting with negotiating technology contracts, and assisting with integrating the Air Force’s then-premier fighter jet into the base network infrastructure.
In addition to the foregoing, I led recovery planning, investigation, and reporting for data incidents across the entire base. Each of these roles taught me more about integrity than any lecture. When something goes wrong while supporting a military mission, there is no room for spin. You report what happened, what you know, what you do not know yet, and what you are currently doing about it. Bad news does not get better with age, and the people depending on you need the truth, not the version of events that makes you look best.
Integrity, of course, can be applied to M&A practice, which is what I spend much of my time doing. A deal is, at its core, an exercise in trust between people who often have recently met. Representations and warranties, disclosure schedules, and due diligence all exist because one side is asking the other to tell the truth about the business, so that value can be appropriately assessed.
When I advise a client preparing to sell the company they spent years building, integrity sometimes means having the uncomfortable conversation early: this issue needs to be disclosed, this number needs to be revisited, this problem will come up in diligence, so let’s get ahead of it. In my experience, the deals that close cleanly are the ones where everyone at the table decided early that candor was not optional.
Service Before Self
The military has a way of quickly reminding you that you are not the center of the universe. One’s own personal needs tend to be rather far down the list. There is the mission, the people the mission is meant to help, the servicemember beside you, their family, your family … you get the point.
At Langley, a significant part of my job was serving as the liaison between our corporate partners and military personnel on cyber and technical matters, as well as managing a training program to help every member of the base protect sensitive information. None of that work was about me. It was about making sure everyone supporting the mission had what they needed to do their jobs well.
Service Before Self may look different in a law firm, but the principle is the same. For many of the clients I represent, the signing of a new contract or the sale of their company is one of the most significant events of their professional lives. My job is to put their interests ahead of my own by guiding them to a legal solution that fits their unique problem, to be available when the deal requires it, and to remember that behind every agreement is a family, a team of employees, and years of sacrifice. Thus, everything must be handled with care for the good of another.
Excellence in All We Do
Few things will teach you about excellence quite like working around some of the Air Force’s best leaders and pilots. Every detail mattered, every system had to work, and every member of the team had to do their part the right way the first time. Always measure twice and cut once. I have come to understand that Excellence in All We Do is not about perfection; rather, it is about a commitment to continuous improvement in every way, minimizing mistakes, and taking pride in every task, especially the small ones.
In M&A practice, excellence lives in the details: the defined term that ripples through an entire purchase agreement, the closing checklist with hundreds of items, the timeline that does not move no matter how many surprises come up. Clients rarely see that work, but they feel it when a deal closes on schedule and with minimal disruption (rare, I know). The Air Force taught me that excellence is built on ordinary days and proven on extraordinary ones.
Carrying the Values Forward
I am grateful for my time in the U.S. Air Force, and even more grateful for the people I served with: the mentors who modeled the core values long before I understood them, especially the enlisted airmen who kept me from getting in my own way, and the families, including my own, who serve right alongside every member of our armed forces.
Veterans Day is a chance to honor everyone who has worn the uniform, but for me it is also a reminder that the values we learn in service do not expire when we take the uniform off.
Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do are not just Air Force slogans. They are truly words to live by.
To every veteran reading this: thank you for your service. And to those still serving: we are proud of you, and we have your six.
Roderick Faulk is senior counsel in Jackson Walker’s San Antonio office, where his practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and venture capital financing for founder-led, venture-backed, and middle-market companies, as well as sports-related matters. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, he served as a Cyber Operations Officer in the U.S. Air Force at Langley Air Force Base. Roderick earned his undergraduate degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy, his J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law, and his MBA from the College of William & Mary.
