"Leadership and Mentorship: A Legacy of Influence" presented by General Carl Stiner

From a farm boy in Lafollette to Commander of America's special forces, General Carl Stiner knows what it means to live a legacy of influence. With a diverse background in problem-solving, leading people, organizational goals development and planning, and executing multi-billion dollar budgets, General Stiner is not only a credible leader but he understands the value of leading for the benefit of others. Now retired with more than 35 years of highly decorated service, General Stiner continues to mentor young leaders and to influence people with his leadership principles. He is still a high level advisor to the U.S. government in the area of strategic planning, and he speaks around the world on topics of leadership, discipline, and current affairs.

On February 10th, General Carl Stiner will share the proven effective and timeless personal leadership principles and practices, which he learned and followed during his long and successful military career. You will find that these principles are applicable to success in any profession. He will speak about his faith and how he has been guided by Christian principles in motivating those entrusted to his leadership. Time permitting, General Stiner will also review the leadership techniques followed by Colin Powell.

Following his presentation, he will be pleased to sign your copy of Shadow Warriors, a book he co-authored with Tom Clancy.

Meet Our Speaker: General Carl Stiner

As the second Commander in Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command from 1990-1993, General Stiner, U.S. Army retired four-star general, was responsible for the readiness of all special operations forces of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, both active duty and reserve. However, his service and dedication to his country started much earlier. Here is his story and many accomplishments.

General Carl Stiner was born in Lafollette, Tennessee, on September 7, l936. He graduated from Tennessee Polytechnic Institute in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned in the Infantry. He served initially with the 9th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia, the 7th Infantry Division in Korea, and commanded a basic training company at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

His first special operations tour of duty was in 1964-66 with the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Following graduation from the Army Command and General Staff College in 1967, he served in Vietnam as both an infantry battalion and brigade operations officer (S-3) with the 4th Infantry Division.

In 1970, after a tour with Headquarters, Department of the Army in Washington, D.C., he joined the 82d Airborne Division where he commanded the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, and served as the Division operations officer (G3). Following graduation from the Army War College in 1975 and a tour in Saudi Arabia, he commanded the 1st Infantry Training Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Promoted to Brigadier General in 1980, he served first as the Chief of Staff, Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF), then headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, and later as the Assistant Division Commander of the 82d Airborne Division. After serving on the Joint Staff in Washington, D.C., as Assistant Deputy Director for Politico-Military Affairs, in 1984 he was promoted to Major General and appointed as Commanding General of the Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.

He held this post until assigned as Commanding General, 82d Airborne Division, in January 1987. In October 1988 he was named Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg. As Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps, he was designated Commander, Joint Task Force South, and served as the operational commander of all forces employed on Operation JUST CAUSE in Panama in December 1989.

In May 1990, he was promoted to the rank of General and became the second Commander in Chief of the United States Special Operations Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. As Commander in Chief, he was responsible for the readiness of all special operations forces of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, both active duty and reserve.

During his thirty-five year career, General Carl Stiner commanded the Army's preeminent contingency strike forces; including the Joint Special Operations Command, the 82d Airborne Division and the XVIII Airborne Corps. General Stiner has an extensive background in special operations. Among the many missions in which he was involved was the capture of the terrorists in the Achille Lauro hijacking, the Panama invasion and the capture of Manuel Noriega, and all special operations activities during Operation Desert Storm.

His awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf cluskers, Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Purple Hear, Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutest Badge, Ranger Tab, Army General Staff Identification Badge, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Service Badge. He also holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration.

General Stiner retired in 1993 with more than 35 years of service. In 2003, Stiner co-authored Shadow Warriors with best-selling author, Tom Clancy. He and his wife, the former Sue Reeves, have two daughters.

Catch a glimpse into General Stiner's life and legendary military career in this video from WBIR's HomeGrown series - General Carl Stiner, HomeGrown in Tennessee.

Coffee, Light Breakfast, & TLC Served.