By James Kewish
Since August 2003, cadets in BYU''s Air Force ROTC program have benefited from an example of service from their commanding officer, Col. Lawrence Kingsley.
On his sixteenth assignment in 26 years, Kingsley has served as a leader in both the military and LDS church in locations from Incirlik, Turkey to Anchorage, Alaska. He is currently serving as the commander of Air Force Detachment 855 at BYU and department chair of Aerospace Studies.
As a father of 10 children and former LDS bishop, Kingsley brings a wide range of experience to the Air Force ROTC program at BYU.
Capt. Brett Swigert, a fellow officer at BYU''s Air Force ROTC program, said he appreciates the balance Kingsley brings to the program at BYU. According to Swigert, Kingsley helps guide Air Force ROTC cadets in their preparation for what lies ahead in their military and church service.
'Col. Kingsley''s decades of experience, wisdom and spiritual insight are exactly what cadets here need as they prepare to go out into the world as Air Force officers and leaders in the Church,' Swigert said.
Kingsley said he spent his formative years in New York City. He said after he spent time as a cab driver, it motivated him to go to college.
He enrolled at Embry-Riddle University in Florida, an aeronautical school, where he got an ROTC scholarship. Kingsley said his love of planes is what got him interested in the Air Force. He later transferred to Utah State where he received a degree in Political Science, and later received his commission and started active duty. He also earned a master''s degree in political science from Central Missouri State University in 1983.
Kingsley has spent the bulk of his career with aircraft maintenance.
'It''s been a lot of fun,' he said. 'I''ve worked on all kinds, from helicopters, transports, special operations and all the fighters.'
Kingsley said a person''s service in the military can be difficult for family life. Despite the difficulties of multiple moves and time away from loved ones, he said he is glad, as is his family, for what they''ve gone through together. He said it has given his children valuable real world experience and has been a sort of family adventure.
Kingsley said he thinks if a person is to have a successful career in the military, it needs to be founded on a profound sense of service. He also said the misconceptions that movies can create about military life make it hard for the newer cadets and their wives to adjust to the new commitment that they have made.
'There is a common feeling that somehow the military likes war,' Kingsley said. 'After 26 years of service, I can tell you without any equivocation that most of our senior leaders don''t want to go to war. Because frankly, it''s the military that pays the price.'
Brian Merrell, an Air Force cadet from Las Cruces, New Mexico, said he feels Col. Kingsley is a great leader.
'He goes out of his way to get to know the cadets on a personal level,' Merrell said. 'He''s a family man and he loves the Air Force.'