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Veteran Spotlight: John Hope
1 - Biography including a history of your service for our country:
COL(R) John C. Hope is a 1981 graduate of United States Military Academy at West Point where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and a Regular Army Commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry.
COL(R) Hope served in numerous Infantry assignments to include: Platoon Leader, Company B, 1/502nd Infantry; Assistant Personnel Officer (A/S-1), 2nd Brigade; Assistant Operations Officer (S-3 Air) and Commander, Company C, 3/502nd Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Ft. Campbell, KY.
In an Army Reserve status, CPT Hope also served the Adjutant (S-1) and Assistant Operations Officer (A/S-3), 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne,) and Assistant Operations Officer, Operations Officer (S-3) and Executive Officer (XO), 17th Psychological Operations Battalion, both in Arlington Heights, IL. MAJ Hope began his Civil Affairs career as a Team Leader, 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion, Mattydale, NY, and then served as Team Leader, Company Commander and Operations Officer of the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Green Bay, WI. Following his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in 2004, he served as the Executive Officer, Dragon Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, and as the Deputy Commanding Officer of 1st Training Brigade, U.S. Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (USACAPOC), Ft. Bragg, NC. In 2007, LTC Hope assumed command of the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), Ft. Dix, NJ, and following successful command, he assumed duties of Civil Affairs Team Chief, 353rd Civil Affairs Command, Ft. Wadsworth, Staten Island, NY. Beginning in August of 2010, COL Hope assumed the duties as the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) Liaison to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington, DC. Beginning in 2012, COL Hope was selected for Brigade Command of the Army Reserve Element (ARE), Joint Staff South, in Suffolk, VA, while being dual-hatted as the Reserve Affairs Director (J-9) of the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command (JEEC), Norfolk, VA. Beginning July 2013, COL Hope served as a Military Fellow on the Chief of Staff of the Amy Strategic Studies Group, Crystal City, VA. Prior to being selected as the Assistant Chief of Staff (G-3), 353rd CACOM, COL Hope served as Operations Director for the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) in Kabul, Afghanistan. In addition to this tour, COL Hope has served two tours with the Multi-National Forces and Observers (MFO) in Sinai, Egypt, and three combat tours as a Civil Affairs Officer in Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was mandatorily retired on 31 DEC 2016 after 30 years of active and reserve service.
2 - How has your military service informed you in your work with clients?
It all stems from the word “service.” Service to country via the military defined my role in the profession of arms. I no longer wear the uniform, but I am still dedicated to service for my clients, to use my experience and education to assist them in their way forward. I am team-oriented and relationship-oriented. I see myself as a guide and a mentor as much as I do a coach.
3 - What made you decide to be a coach?
Coaching and mentoring are natural extensions of what I did as a leader in the Army. Many young business professionals have never had any formal leadership training. Most have never had a guide or a coach to work with them. I have a lifetime of coaching and mentoring skills in both the military and civilian businesses. I really enjoy helping the next generations of leaders.
4 - What is your area of interest?
My passion is first to assist veterans. I transitioned out of the Army three times. It is not an easy process and can be extremely stressful. I really enjoy the role of a transition coach and then continue the process as an emerging leader coach when my mentees enter the civilian workforce. I have also been an entrepreneur and I like assisting fellow entrepreneurs. Many of them are very smart and have great ideas, but on the whole, they have very little formal leadership training. These interactions tend to be long term and are very satisfying to be a part of.
5- What is the one unique thing we would be surprised to know about you?
I love trees and I love planting and nurturing them on a larger scale. I am a volunteer with the Arbor Day Foundation and Root Nashville. I have 52+ acres of timber property near South Pittsburg, TN, that I am restoring to natural Tennessee habitat.
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