GET COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE
R MIKE COWPERTHWAIT
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Program Executive Office for Aviation, Cargo Heli- copters Project Management Office
TITLE: Deputy product manager
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 17 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 7
AAW/DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level III in program management and engineer- ing, Level II in international acquisition
EDUCATION: M.A. in human resources development, Webster University; B.S. in management, concentration in systems engi- neering, U.S. Military Academy at West Point
AWARDS: Civilian Service Commendation Medal, 2020; Civilian Service Achievement Medal, 2014; Army Aviation Association of America Order of Saint Michael Bronze Award, 2019; Association of the United States Army Redstone-Huntsville Chapter Department of the Army Civilian of the Year, Technical Management category, 2020
emember that scene from the holiday classic “A Christmas Story,” where Ralphie daydreams that his schoolteacher, Miss Shields, is so enrap- tured with his writing assignment that she turns to the blackboard and writes ‘A+++++,’ all the way across? Tat’s actually a more apt descrip-
tion of Mike Cowperthwait’s personality type, according to his colleagues. “Yeah, some of the guys on my team like to joke that I’m A-plus-plus-plus,” he laughed. Cowperthwait is the deputy product manager for the CH-47F Block I Cargo Heli- copter at the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Aviation, a job he relishes. As a former Chinook pilot himself, he is most at home in the military aviation commu- nity. “I just can’t imagine being anywhere else,” he said.
He describes himself as driven and goal-oriented, and as someone who always tries to finish what he starts. “I get a great deal of satisfaction from continuing what I started in the Army almost a quarter-century ago when I served as an aviation officer and CH-47D pilot,” he said. “I’ve spent my entire adult life in and around Army aviation and it’s a tremendous honor to work with the finest workforce in the world on the premier heavy-lift cargo helicopter in existence.” As the deputy product manager, he works with a 55-person cross-functional organization respon- sible for the production, delivery, new equipment training and foreign military sales activity for the Chinook and CH-47F Block I Training Aids, Devices, Simulators and Simulations (TADSS).
Trough his professional experiences, Cowperthwait has learned the importance of the ancient Greek aphorism, “know thyself.” After struggling to achieve work-life balance earlier in his career, he is now open about having a “results-driven, border- line obsessive work ethic,” and he asks his supervisors to hold him accountable. “I’m getting better about delegating tasks and scheduling downtime,” he said. He recalls the advice of his uncle, another former military pilot, who imparted some wisdom to Cowperthwait at the very beginning of his Army career. “You’re going to want to do heroic things, but you have to remember, it’s not just you.” Te crew and all the passengers onboard the aircraft are “someone’s son, daughter, father, mother.” In every decision, his uncle urged him, “Mike, just remember that you’re taking all those people with you.” He now understands how that advice applies outside the cockpit, as well—not just as a matter of their immediate physical safety, but their professional development and well-being, too.
“When you’re comfortable, you’re not growing.”
62 Army AL&T Magazine Spring 2021
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