After two years plus of the COVID-19 pandemic, months of continued protests triggered by the murder of George Floyd, a new era of policing reforms ushered in by city and state governments, and perhaps the most controversial and consequential presidential election of our lifetime leading to a siege on the U.S. Capitol, I could not help but be filled with thoughts, emotions, and concerns as I passed a personal milestone this past September, i.e., three decades in law enforcement.

I started to think about a speech by former U.S. Army General Norman Schwarzkopf, delivered to a group of West Point Cadets in 1991 shortly after Desert Storm where he said in sum and substance, “I am at the twilight of a mediocre career,” and then questioned, “What do you say to the future leaders of the 21st century?”