On the Fields of Friendly Strife
General Douglas MacArthur wrote these lines while Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, 1919–1922, and had them engraved over the entrance to the gymnasium:  Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that, upon other fields, on other days will bear the fruits of victory.  Coaches have always driven the culture of their teams. The importance of their leadership has only grown under increasing stresses in our daily lives. Individual qualities cultivated in sports to triumph over challenges thrive in a healthy culture -- “a good barrel” – and will sustain athletes, as well as coaching staffs, on the fields of athletic competition and in life beyond the arena.

Biography for General Johnson: 
Retired USAF Lieutenant General Michelle Johnson graduated from high school in Spencer, Iowa where she excelled on the basketball and track teams. She went on to be a distinguished graduate of the US Air Force Academy where she was twice named a basketball Academic All American and was later inducted in the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame. She also won a Rhodes Scholarship.  After earning a master’s degree at Oxford University, she earned her AF flying wings and piloted C-141, KC-10, C-5, KC-135, and C-17 jet cargo and refueling tanker aircraft on worldwide missions.  From 1992 to 1994 she served in the White House as the Air Force Aide to Presidents Bush ’41 and Clinton.  As she rose through the ranks, she commanded flying units in the US and the UAE. In the Pentagon, Michelle led a team that created the policy foundation for Cyber Command. In Transportation Command, she refined policy for sea to rail supply of forces in Afghanistan via Central Asia.  In Belgium at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, she was the deputy chief of staff for operations and intelligence in support of military actions from Afghanistan to the Baltics.  Michelle’s capstone AF assignment was as the 19th Superintendent of the Air Force Academy, the military commander and college president.  After retiring from the USAF, she became the National Basketball Association senior vice president and head of referee operations across NBA, WNBA and G League officiating staffs.  Michelle’s husband, John Hargreaves is a retired Air Force pilot. Their twin sons are avid high school band and orchestra musicians in Colorado.   The opportunity to be fully present for the boys’ last high school years led her to leave the NBA in October 2019, just in time to be together for Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.