Photo By Diana Nesukh | Mark Correll credits his father, retired Col. Charles Correll, for inspiring him to...... read more read more
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Retired Col. and Senior Executive Service Mark Correll credits his father for instilling in him a clear sense that service of any kind is an obligation and military service is a privilege. “He was living integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do long before it was coined, and I wanted in on that,” Correll said.
Before retiring in 2010, Correll served 29 years as a Civil Engineer. He entered the senior executive service as the Deputy Director of Air Force Civil Engineers until 2014 and most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety and Infrastructure at the Pentagon before retiring from Civil Service in 2021.
His father, retired Col. Charles Correll, was commissioned as a B-29, KB-50 and KC-135 navigator in 1953 and spent the next 13 years flying at Dow AFB and Loring AFB, Maine, and Fairchild AFB, Washington, before moving into an instructor billet at Squadron Officer School and a forward air controller position. He continued dedicating time and talent to the Air Force through Civil Engineering at Lockbourne AFB, Ohio; Fuchu AS, Japan; Kadena AB, Japan; and Scott AFB, Illinois, before retiring in 1979.
Correll believes service is a team sport and everyone in the family is a player. While his father influenced his military career, he recognizes the significant role his mother played in supporting his father and his spouse has played for over 40 years in his own life. “As the children of Air Force officers, my spouse and I moved all over the world, as did my children,” Correll said. “While I saw that as more of an opportunity than a hardship, there is no doubt that military children have to take on roles their civilian counterparts do not, and that is their part in contributing to the service of the military member.”
Correll always kept in mind three of the most important lessons his father taught him throughout his military and civil service career. The first was that leadership is not a reward but an opportunity to serve and sacrifice at the next higher level. “In other words, service gets harder as you become more senior and isn’t about getting more, but about giving more,” Correll said. The second lesson is that success results from a team’s great work, while failure falls on individual leadership. Finally, there is nothing more fulfilling than service, primarily serving your country.
| Date Taken: | 01.31.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 01.31.2023 14:41 |
| Story ID: | 437554 |
| Location: | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 248 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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