Mays' MBA Program is among the first to be deemed "Military Friendly" by GMAC.

By Sommer Hamilton

Capt. Travis Habhab '07, pictured here on the ground in Iraq, is earning his MBA from Texas A&M’s Mays Business School.

Habhab's company of Apache pilots and crew chiefs—the 1-227th Aviation Regiment; B Company "Reapers" - at te Ishtar Gate of Babylon in Irag, one the earliest landmarks of civilization.

A platoon of 40 infantrymen was pinned down near the holy Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf in the August heat, under heavy fire from cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Iraqi insurgents.

Army Capt. Travis Habhab ’07 registered the terror in the voices that played over his radio as he cut low over the sacred grounds in his Apache, drawing enemy fire. He and his co-pilot directed the ground troops to a safe area as they trained their attack helicopter’s weapons to return fire on the insurgents below.

Habhab, leader of a company of 40 pilots and crew chiefs, made as many as five passes as he freed the platoon and defeated the insurgents in August 2004, during the worst days of violence in the Shia stronghold 100 miles south of Baghdad. He didn’t realize how many bullets were in the belly of his Apache until he returned, triumphant, to his forward operating base that night. His valor in Najaf earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross, the highest combat honor for a military aviator.

Now nearly two years later, the captain leans back in a rolling chair at Mays Business School, admitting he misses the Army life though he has embraced the opportunity to expand his knowledge while earning his MBA here.

“Things would happen so fast there wasn’t time to be scared,” Habhab says of the dual pressures of battle and commanding a company of eight Apaches. “You’re getting shot at or the men and women below you are under fire, and in less than a minute you have to develop a plan, shout out the orders and roll.”

It’s that kind of leadership—taking charge of a situation and understanding the consequences, sometimes life-threatening, of each decision—that the U.S. Armed Forces nurtures in its officers. And the same kind of command and presence that each officer must have in the field of battle is precisely what drives the best businesses forward, administrators say, making any MBA graduate with a military background a top consideration for recruiters.

Military friendly
In war and in business, one’s opposition is fluid. Leaders must adapt their tactics to achieve the overall goal, whether that’s ensuring democracy in a former dictatorship or maximizing investors’ ROI in a potentially hostile takeover, says Jim Dixey, director of Mays’ Graduate Business Career Services and himself a Vietnam veteran.

Halliburton, KBR, Raytheon and General Electric are just a few of the companies already expressing an interest in Mays’ military MBAs.

“Businesses want people who believe in what they’re doing, they want someone committed to their cause,” Dixey explains. “These are very sharp individuals who understand their responsibility, who follow through with their decisions and who can lead with inspiration to accomplish their goals.”

Four members of the MBA class of ’07, and several more in the incoming class of 2008, are veterans and former service members.

Some, including Habhab, applied from the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan and were welcomed into the application process by receptive Mays MBA program administrators who understood the constraints that could cause active duty servicemen to miss deadlines. The MBA program formalized its commitment to the military’s men and women in 2006 when it was designated a “Military Friendly” school by the Graduate Management Admission Council.

‘Always tested’
The lessons you learn in the military are hard to vocalize, says second-year Mays MBA student and former Navy Lt. Nick Jones. Simply put, “you are always tested,” he explained in June during a break from his summer internship with ExxonMobil’s human resource division.

Jones spent a deployment in the waters of South America on assignment to intercept drug smugglers, leading his men in a tactical game of hide-and-seek that resulted in the seizure of several tons of cocaine destined for the United States. But as a Surface Warfare Officer and Officer of the Deck responsible for the well-being of everyone aboard the frigate, Jones had more to contend with in his day-to-day duties than the Miami Vice-inspired scenes chasing smugglers across the open sea.

“You’ve got people looking up to you, and you are coach, advisor, pastor and mentor there to serve the people you lead,” says Jones, who was also officer in charge for all emergency responders aboard the ship. “You want to make sure they have everything they need to focus on the mission at hand. And you get some initial training, but the truth is you have to figure out how to grow into those big shoes people look to you to fill.”

For most, turning to an MBA program is a natural continuation of their education as they transition from military life to the business world. The captain of Jones’ ship in his last deployment was an Aggie who raised the Texas A&M flag at every foreign port they pulled into—so he said he already knew the university’s culture was in line with the values of the service.

“I needed the exposure to learn how to become a corporate leader,” Jones says. “And A&M seemed a natural fit.”

Mays is actively courting such students, and it’s not just because the school respects the military tradition. Mays’ Dixey explains that such men and women improve the reputation of the school with their backgrounds and values.

“If you can lead an operating department on a Navy combat ship or take down enemy forces, you can likely step into a company and lead,” Dixey says. “I would have no problem turning my company over to them or hiring them to take charge of my business team.

“When you sit down and talk to these men and women… you realize this country is in good hands. And that’s a great first impression for Mays and for our MBA program.”