Retired 75th Ranger and proven combat leader, Michael Scoutten

Mike is an awesome guy and someone you want with you during a gunfight. You can learn more about Michael from his LinkedIn below. ***I am a Special Operations veteran transitioning to the private sector in January of 2024. That is who I am, but there is so much more to tell. In the Autumn of 2001, I was a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. It seemed to my father at the time that I was far more concerned with playing rugby and enjoying the social scene at UT than my studies, and he wasn’t wrong about that. On the morning of September 11th, I woke up late, most likely from festivities the night before and turned on the television just in time to see the second plane fly into the south Tower. As with many that day, my life would be forever changed. I was ready to drop out of school and enlist that day and that would’ve been the story if my father hadn’t stepped in and offered a piece of advice. “Finish your degree and then join. You’ll wish you would have if you don’t.” That tidbit of Fatherly advice was quite astute, and I give my father credit to this day about it. I would spend the next 20 years climbing the ranks of the Army, with most of that time in Special Operations. What initially was a challenge and a rush of adventure, turned into a passion and a career developing teams and mentoring subordinates to become more proficient leaders. Developing others and cultivating diverse teams that could accomplish arduous tasks in high-pressure environments became a personal calling card. It is fitting then that my Gallup Strengths turned out to be: Achiever | Harmony | Consistency | Context | Focus As my military career comes to an end and I look to the next chapter in the private sector, I look forward to continuing to work with diverse teams of individuals to accomplish difficult tasks and improve the organization and community around me. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou***