A Gainesville native who served in Korea as a civilian U.S. military adviser for 18 years spoke at Santa Fe College on Thursday, incorporating his life experiences to explain leadership traits for a conference the college hosted.
Before Robert Mounts made the transition to civilian service in 1996, he served in the U.S. Air Force for more than 25 years as a special agent, before retiring in 1994. During his service he negotiated the costs of stationing U.S. forces in South Korea.
To a group of Santa Fe students and faculty, Mounts said he believed the core principles of a good leader include “a belief in the system, a belief in the process, a belief in the higher goals of our country.”
“Adolf Hitler was a good leader, but his core principles were pretty bad,” he said, laughing. “A leader is supposed to set out the vision for the government or for the people and then to monitor to see how we’re making progress for the goals that he sets out.”
Victoria Swander, a Santa Fe anthropology sophomore who attended the conference, said Mounts seemed principled.
“He stressed being able to identify your personal morals and values,” the 23-year-old said.
Noah Jones, a Santa Fe cognitive neuroscience sophomore, also attended the conference and said Mounts’ speech was captivating.
“I would characterize Mounts as grandfatherly, soft-spoken and well-practiced in storytelling,” Jones, 21, said.
Mounts closed his speech by explaining the importance of an informed youth.
“Educated young people,” he said, following a moment of silence. “It’s one of the best things.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 11/7/2014]
