USAFA's NCLS 2025: "Examining Warrior Ethos"

By Randy Roughton
U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications

The upcoming National Character and Leadership Symposium will feature a speaker lineup focused on the superintendent’s priority of producing warfighters to win future conflicts.

The 32nd annual flagship symposium will also connect participants with combat-experienced servicemembers in discussions and presentations to encourage reflection and motivate personal action.

Save the date: Feb. 20-21, 2025

The two-day symposium will take place Feb. 20-21, 2025, in Arnold Hall at the U.S. Air Force Academy. This year’s theme is Warrior Ethos. Hearing the experiences and perspectives of real-life warfighters will benefit the cadets’ journey to becoming leaders of character.

“I’m looking forward to this year’s symposium,” said NCLS Cadet-in-Charge Cadet 1st Class Julia Razzino, a Data Science major. “As the Cadet Wing continues to grow and develop, I hope this year’s theme will inspire cadets to embrace the mindset of warfighters to win and encourage critical thinkers to adapt and succeed in ever-changing environments.”

Defining Warrior Ethos

NCLS Event Deputy Director Melissa Parent said the Warrior Ethos is the embodiment of the warrior spirit. It encompasses tough-mindedness, tireless motivation, unceasing vigilance and a commitment to the world’s premier air, space and cyberspace force.

“All our speakers have combat experience and demonstrate the key attributes of a warfighter,” Parent said. “Those attributes include leading through adversity and crisis, executing with courage, outpacing the adversary with a strong decision-making process and readiness, and understanding the impacts of moral injury. These speakers will serve as exemplars to our cadets and other audience members as we help our next generation of warfighters develop and strengthen their own warrior ethos.”

Among this year’s featured presenters are retired Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Ramón Colón-López, U.S. Air Force Col. Charles A. Fallon, Lt. Col. Alea Nadeem, and retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Nathan Schmidt.

Retired Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Ramón Colón-López will speak at NCLS 2025 Feb. 20-21, 2025. This year, NCLS will offer a warfighting-focused speaker lineup. (Courtesy photo provided by Ramón Colón-López)

Retired Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Ramón Colón-López

Colón-López became the fourth senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the most senior enlisted service member in the U.S. Armed Forces.

As the SEAC, he became the first U.S. military enlisted member to be awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding contributions to national security in a position of great responsibility.

He moved to the U.S. from his native Puerto Rico in 1986 and began his 33-year career four years later in 1990. Colón-López served for two decades as a Special Operations Pararescueman.

He has more than a decade of experience in the Joint Special Operations Command. Colón-López served as a special tactics team leader, advanced force operations team leader and worked with the Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 during dozens of raids and missions.

Col. Charles A. Fallon, Class of 2003, commandant of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, will speak at NCLS 2025 Feb. 20-21. This year, NCLS will offer a warfighting-focused speaker lineup. (Courtesy photo provided by Col. Charles A. Fallon)

Col. Charles A. Fallon

Fallon, Class of 2003, is the U.S. Air Force Weapons School commandant at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. In this role, he oversees 21 squadrons across nine geographic locations.

As a command pilot with more than 2,800 flying hours, including 616 in combat, Fallon brings a military aviation perspective to his NCLS 2025 presentation.

Before his current assignment, Fallon was the chief of the Strategy Integration Division at the Pentagon. He also commanded the 55th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, and held key leadership positions, including the F-16 Weapons School senior leader management chief.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Alea Nadeem will speak at NCLS 2025 Feb. 20-21, 2025. This year, NCLS will offer a warfighting-focused speaker lineup. (Courtesy photo provided by Lt. Col. Alea Nadeem)

Lt. Col. Alea Nadeem

Nadeem serves as the commander of the 150th Security Forces Squadron at the 150th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

Before joining the Special Operations Wing, Nadeem was a congressional budget and appropriations liaison to the Senate Appropriations Committee, assigned to the Secretary of the Air Force, Financial Management and Comptroller at the Pentagon.

She previously served as a policy advisor on the National Security Council policy advisor, working in the Executive Office of the President at the White House.

Nadeem began her U.S. Air Force career in 2004 and was later commissioned through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. An intelligence officer by trade, she specialized in the Middle East.

Her assignments have included roles with Security Forces, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Headquarters Air Force, and a deployment to the Combined Air Operations Center in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Nathan Schmidt will speak at NCLS 2025 Feb. 20-21. This year, NCLS will offer a warfighting-focused speaker lineup. (Courtesy photo provided by Lt. Col. Robert E. Schmidt)

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Nathan Schmidt

Schmidt graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2002 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. From 2004 to 2007, he completed three combat tours in Iraq, including operations in Fallujah, Rutbah, Haditha and Al Asad.

After his active-duty military service, Schmidt joined the Marine Corps Reserve, where he completed 20 years of honorable service, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in December 2023.

His civilian career included three assignments with the Foreign Service, serving at U.S. embassies in Prague, Czech Republic (2013–15); Kyiv, Ukraine (2015–18); and Vienna, Austria (2018–21).

In 2021, Schmidt retired from federal service after 21 years and founded the Mountain Seed Foundation. The Mountain Seed Foundation’s mission is to support families affected by war through mental health services, therapy and mountain climbing.

U.S. Air Force Academy cadets attend the 31st annual National Character and Leadership Symposium presentation in Arnold Hall Feb. 23, 2024. This year, NCLS will offer a warfighting-focused speaker lineup Feb. 20-21, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Dylan Smith)

Cadets anticipate NCLS 2025 presenters

In February, Razzino will attend her fourth NCLS. She is particularly interested in hearing Nadeem’s presentation. At the age of 8, Nadeem moved to Mosul, Iraq, where she lived under Saddam Hussein’s regime and attended school for part of her elementary education. Her childhood experiences in Saddam’s Iraq played a role in her Air Force enlistment.

“Lt. Col. Nadeem’s diverse experiences and childhood hardships deeply inspire me, and I am eager to learn how they have shaped her perspective on warrior ethos,” Razzino said. “I am particularly interested in learning how 9/11 influenced her call to service and how her journey has been guided by resilience and purpose. I truly hope her story will provide the Cadet Wing with meaningful insights.”

Registration for NCLS 2025 will open Jan. 8, 2025. The event is open to cadets, faculty, staff and community members. Register for NCLS 2025. See photos of last year’s NCLS at Flickr. Last year’s video playlist is available on YouTube.

First published on USAFA

STARRS applauds the warfighter focus and it is our sincere hope we don’t have to report articles like this from last year’s NCLS woke bomb: