From Fighter Pilot to Diplomat: Major General Scott Gration on Leadership, Service and Global Diplomacy

In this episode, we sit down with Scott Gration, a retired United States Air Force Major General whose career has spanned combat aviation, diplomacy, humanitarian leadership and the White House.A former White House Fellow and two-time wing commander, General Gration logged more than 5,000 flight hours and flew 274 combat missions as a fighter pilot.Throughout his distinguished military career, he held key national security positions including Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, and Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy at the United States European Command.Beyond the military, he served as Special Assistant to the President, the President's Special Envoy to Sudan, and U.S Ambassador to Kenya, later leading a global humanitarian organization as CEO. Drawing from the experiences chronicled in his memoir, Flight Path: Son of Africa to Warrior-Diplomat, General Gration reflects on leadership under pressure, diplomacy in conflict zones, lessons from public service and the journey from fighter pilot to global statesman.