Get Back Up: Lessons In Servant Leadership

by Heather Wilson, Dave Goldfein

Overview

In "Get Back Up: Lessons in Servant Leadership," Air Force Academy classmates Heather Wilson and David Goldfein share four decades of lessons from the marble halls of the Capitol to the sands of the Middle East with humor and humility. Dave, a four-star general and former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, recounts being shot down in his F-16 over Serbia and other gripping stories. Heather, a former Congresswoman, university president, and Secretary of the Air Force, reveals the tough calls that shaped her leadership. Reunited at the Pentagon 35 years after their cadet days, they weave unforgettable stories into practical lessons for anyone striving to lead with character and serve with purpose.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940184426457
Publisher:	UTEP Press
Publication date:	09/22/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Dave Goldfein and Heather Wilson started their careers on the same day and in the same place: the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Their careers took different paths but converged almost forty years later at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

Dave became a fighter pilot and military commander, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over Serbia, and spent two years as the Commander of Coalition Air and Space Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming the Director of the Joint Staff in the Pentagon.

Heather earned her PhD as a Rhodes Scholar, worked in Europe during the Cold War, and served on the National Security Council Staff for President George H.W. Bush. She was a cabinet secretary in state government, elected and reelected to the United States Congress for ten years, and then became a university president.

Heather and Dave were brought back together in May 2017 as Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force under Secretary of Defense James Mattis. During their service together, they talked a lot about leadership. Many of the featured stories originate from the time they spent working together.

Dave is now a senior advisor to Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, and is chairman of the board of Google Public Sector and the USO.

Heather is the president of The University of Texas at El Paso.