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Oakland McCulloch    

Leadership Speaker, Author & Retired Lieutenant Colonel, US Army

Lieutenant Colonel Oakland McCulloch, U.S. Army (Retired) Oakland McCulloch was born in Loudon, Tennessee and raised in Kirkland, Illinois. After graduating from high school, he attend the United States Military Academy at West Point for two years. He then graduated from Northern Illinois University and received his commission as an Infantry Officer through the Reserve Officer Training Course in 1986.

In his 23 year career in the Army Oak McCulloch held numerous leadership positions in the Infantry and Armor branches. He assisted in disaster relief operations for Hurricane HUGO in Charleston, South Carolina and Hurricane ANDREW in south Florida. His operational deployments include Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Iraq as a Generals Aide-de-Camp, the Congressional Liaison Officer in support of operations in Bosnia and the Operations Officer during a Peace Keeping deployment to Kosovo. He held instructor positions at the US Army Ordnance School, the US Army Command and General Staff College, the Australian Command and Staff College, University of South Alabama and Stetson University. His last position in the Army was a three-year tour as the Professor of Military Science at the University of South Alabama where he led the training and commissioning of Lieutenants and tripled the size of the program in his three-year tour.

LTC McCulloch retired from the Army in September 2009 with over 23 years of active service and joined the staff at the Bay Area Food Bank as the Associate Director. He was also the Vice Chair for Military Affairs on the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Mobile Rotary International Club. LTC McCulloch left the food bank in December 2010 to become the Senior Military Science Instructor and recruiter for the Army ROTC program at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. In his 9 years at Stetson, the program grew from 15 Cadets to over 100 Cadets. In October 2013, he became the Recruiting Operations Officer for the Eagle Battalion Army ROTC program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he has more than doubled the size of the program in 6 years. Cadet Command selected LTC McCulloch as the top recruiting officer, out of 274 recruiters, for 2019. LTC Oak McCulloch published his first book in February 2021 – “Your Leadership Legacy: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be”. LTC McCulloch earned a Bachelor of Science degree in History from Northern Illinois University in 1987 and a Master of Military Arts and Science in History from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 2002. He received thirty-one military service awards including the Bronze Star, eight Meritorious Service Medals and the Humanitarian Service Medal.

LTC Oak McCulloch is married to the former Kelly Smyth of Wauconda, Illinois. They were married at Fort Sheridan, Illinois in 1987 and they have two children, Oakland Vincent McCulloch and Caileigh Nicholson. They also have a granddaughter, Ryleigh Jade Nicholson and two grandsons Christopher Bryce Nicholson and Oakland Maverick McCulloch.

Speech Topics


Your Leadership Legacy: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Oakland McCulloch 40 + years of leadership experience, including 23 years as a combat arms officer in the United States Army. His ""Your Leadership Legacy"" presentation is based on his leadership experiences. Oak highlights leadership principles that will benefit today's leaders and inspire the leaders of tomorrow. There is NO discussion of theory in this presentation. We will discuss what every leader can do every day to improve their leadership skills and abilities. We will examine what it takes to become the leader you were meant to be – a Servant Leader.

In this presentation we will cover the following subjects: Selfless Service, Leadership Defined, Establishing a Culture, Setting the Example, Being Decisive (being in charge), Change Management, Dangers of Risk Aversion, the Importance of Communication, Team Building, Training Your Team, Importance of Mentorship, Problem Solving, Getting Results and the Importance of Professional Development.

Secrets to Success - In Business and in Life

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Oakland McCulloch 40 + years of leadership experience, including 23 years as a combat arms officer in the United States Army. His "Secrets to Success" presentation is based on his 40 + years of leadership, coaching, teaching and mentoring experiences. Oak highlights principles that will help you be a more successful person at work, in your personal life and in life.

In this presentation we will covers the following subjects: Importance of Critical Thinking, Motivation, Self-Discipline, Habits, Decision making, What is a Goal, How to Set and Achieve Goals, Risk Taking, Importance of a Positive Attitude, Wanting to be the Best at Whatever You Do, Getting Results.

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