How to Get There: Two Star US General

As a teen, being an adult and choosing a job feels like a dark looming challenge with many obstacles. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Top people in all fields had to start somewhere, right? The mission of the How to Get There series is to explore the journey and simplify the process, therefore bringing it to the growing-up-21st-century audience.

It was a beautiful day in May at the Central Park South New York Health Club. On the ninth floor, the Women in the Art of Negotiation Summit was held. The Girl Scouts of Greater New York were invited to participate in sessions and sell cookies. When my troop closed up our stand and left I decided to stay a few more hours because I didn't want to miss the closing speaker, General Mari K. Eder, so I walked into the crowded grand ballroom and found a seat right in front of the stage.

The Position:  

Two Star United States Army Major General

The Person Behind it:

Mari K. Eder

The Process:

I grew up north of Pittsburgh in a really small town. My initial life plan was to go to college but I wasn’t sure of my goal.  I knew I definitely didn’t want to teach due to my fear of public speaking.

When I went to Edinboro, Pennsylvania for my undergraduate degree, I majored in English. I also worked on the college newspaper and yearbook. I liked writing, journalism and literature but I still was really shy so I wanted to be in the background. It took me a long time to get to where I could present my own papers.

After I graduated the economy was bad so there weren’t many jobs available. I enrolled in graduate school. I was basically putting off trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I began working for a daily newspaper as a reporter but  I quickly realized they couldn’t afford to hire me full time.

During this period of searching, one of my friends had joined the Army.  She and others were having a good time traveling the world. I thought to myself, “Maybe I could that for a couple of years just until I have an idea of what I want to do long-term.”

So I joined and I didn’t like the bureaucracy or the work.

I couldn’t figure out how to transfer into public relations. That was because it wasn’t available at the entry level. You have to serve in an operations role first.  Frustrated, I left active duty but found I could begin a career in public relations with the Army out of uniform - as a civilian. Once I was working my position was solidified in the Reserves and I continued my Army role but on a part-time basis. My goal was to reach the rank of colonel and then retire.

Once I was working at the Reserves I got some great opportunities. There are so many things that were available and people just didn’t take advantage of them. I applied for internships, fellowships and schools.  Sometimes I was successful, sometimes not. But I was enjoying the experiences and meeting a lot of good people.

The army doesn’t give promotions, I had to earn them all. One of my favorite sayings is “You can break any rule you want to but you first need to know what the rules are.” So I would figure out what it took to get promoted and then what it took to be competitive. I worked hard to meet all of the requirements and get to the gates at the right times.

I also was able to try multiple fields within public relations. I worked in Law Enforcement for a time. Mind you I wasn’t really good at it or liked it particularly but I wanted to try it. That was a great lesson for me and one of the positive aspects of military service - all doors are open.  You can try anything you want - if you qualify and show you can do it.

As I rose through the ranks and became a general I knew that the time as a general officer would only last 6-7 years. I was determined to learn everything I could from it. I was able to work in public relations field at its’ highest form. I was able to achieve that big dream. I was in the Pentagon for three years, which is long enough.

Things to Keep in Mind:

When you become a general it is not about how important you are going to be, it is how you have shown you can do the work and that you can think about the big picture and about how things will work long term at the highest levels of government.

I wish I had known how fast paced it would be so I could have been better prepared. It was absolutely nonstop. I traveled 20 days out of the month, every month. I didn’t have control over my schedule at all.

My boss was a three-star general in the Pentagon, and if he couldn’t go to something then he would say, “You do it.” and I would say, “Okaay, let me add that to my list.” So there were things about the daily schedule and even about planning out two to three weeks in advance that were a surprise. Events would come up and I would be notified last minute. It probably made me better at public speaking because I didn’t have time to get nervous.  

Unique Experiences:  

I was surprised that even as a general you’re always on a roster or a list of additional duties. So in the Pentagon, the breeder generals, the newer ones, are the lowest. So you’re on this list of invitations of army leaders get and can’t attend so somebody on that roster will attend.

One day I came in and we had a secretary who ran the office like it was hers alone. We were out of paper for the copy machine so when I came in she had this guilty look on her face. Another office had been next for invitations and they had copy paper so she said I would take the invitation if she could get two cases of copy paper. So in short, what she did was trade me for the paper.

Two days later the call came, “Here is our task, but you are going to do it for us.” And all I knew was that I had to be in my dress uniform and be at the gates of Arlington Cemetery at 10 AM. I didn’t know what it was but I got there all the same. Once at the cemetery there was someone to escort me down the hill, around the construction, over the mud and when I turn and look up the hill I could see the fifty state flags, the United States Army Band, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Then the escort says, “The President of Ukraine will be here in five minutes for the wreath-laying ceremony and you are leading it. Would you like to do a run through?” I replied, “Yes, I would.” So… that was a big moment for me because only a couple of years earlier I would have been one of the people standing there watching it and now I was actually doing it. That was an amazing moment for me.  

Advice:

It is easy when you hear these sayings “You have to know your path” or “Any road will do as long as you know where you are going.” It all  sounds so easy. But in reality, most people don’t know where they want to spend the next 10 years of their life when they are 17. And they don’t have to.

One, you will find your way, you don’t have to pick one path, you’re able to try out different things and see if they work or not.

Two, you don’t need to know where your strengths are, they will find you.   Your strengths will show up in the knowledge you absorb quickly, the tasks you complete easily, in the things you enjoy.

Three, you will also fail at something. I think if you get to the age of  25 and you haven’t failed at something big you haven’t tried, you haven’t taken a risk. The people I know who have become very successful have all failed at something along the way, learned from it and gotten past it.