* Active Duty Army Colonel
* West Point graduate
* Special Operations helicopter pilot
* Division-I baseball player
* AA Youth hockey coach
* Parent of 3 competitive athletes (hockey, cheer, gymnastics)
Chris joined Top Mental Game to help athletes, leaders, and organizations overcome obstacles and achieve their full potential. A three-sport athlete in high school (hockey, baseball, football), Division I baseball player, and 25-year Army officer, Chris has extensive experience with leadership and performance under pressure. He became a TMG certified coach in 2022.
Before joining Top Mental Game, Chris served in the US Army for nearly 3 decades. He began his career at the United States Military Academy (West Point) where he worked to become the starting catcher for the Army baseball team that won its first-ever Patriot League Championship in 1997. Upon graduation from West Point, Chris was commissioned as an aviation officer, completing qualification as a UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter pilot. Over the next 7 years, Chris was stationed in Germany and Fort Campbell, KY, deploying to Kosovo for nine months and twice to Iraq for a total of 18 months. During his second deployment to Iraq, Chris commanded Charlie Company, 4-3 Aviation Regiment, the unit responsible for transporting the former leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, from his detention location to trial – a no-fail mission with strategic consequences.
After safely redeploying from Iraq, Chris assessed for and was selected to join the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), Night Stalkers. He attended the CH-47D Chinook helicopter qualification course and Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) school – a demanding course that gives high-risk personnel the tools to survive if isolated behind enemy lines or captured.
Over the next 15 years, Chris would continue to serve in Special Operations units and was eventually selected to command 2nd Battalion, 160th SOAR, Darkhorse, in 2016 – a 750-person organization with highly modified helicopters, drones and specially assessed and selected Soldiers. During his two-year command, the Battalion supported the nation’s most elite forces in combat (Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen) and numerous training exercises in the U.S. and Europe. In 2018, the unit was selected as the Best Combat Aviation Unit in the US Army.
After Battalion Command and attendance at the Air War College, Chris served as the Deputy Commander of the Air Component in Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). In this role, he was involved in several complex and difficult Presidentially-directed missions with strategic consequences.
Chris has served in uniform for nearly three decades in 10 different duty locations, accumulated over 2,500 flight hours (half of which in combat), completed qualification in 7 different aircraft, and attained his private pilot’s license, all while deploying to combat or other operations 17 different times for a total of over 1,200 days. He lives near Raleigh, NC, volunteers as a youth hockey coach, is married to Brandy and has three wonderful children – Wyatt, Alaina, and Ella.
