Among the many sayings of Brig. Gen. E. John “Dragon” Teichert during his tenure as commander at the “Aerospace Test Center of the Universe” was “We stand on the shoulders of giants.”

The recently retired general officer is a newly commissioned author. His first book is titled appropriately, “Boom!” with a subtitle “Leadership that Breaks Barriers, Challenges Convention, and Ignites Innovation.”

Reading “Boom!” reminded me of a moment that began in Lancaster, Calif., when the then newly installed commander of the 412th Test Wing made a point to visit the weekly veterans gathering, Coffee4Vets, hosting about 100 vets a week at Crazy Otto’s Restaurant. The general made the rounds, serving coffee for the veterans, and telling “Dad jokes” while he poured, armed only with an infectious grin.

His adoptive rule for living was called “servant leadership,” often written about, but not practiced often enough. Asked at the coffee to visit a World War II veteran for an end-of-life birthday, “Dragon” Teichert showed up, and brought his Chief Master Sgt., Roosevelt Jones, with him.

Everyone chorused “Happy Birthday” to Sgt. 1st Class Charles “Charlie” Rader, World War II top turret gunner of a B-17 Flying Fortress shot down over Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Rader, awarded the Silver Star for rescuing the crew from the crash-landed bomber, relished the chorus and the cake with Army Air Corps insignia.

Rader escaped from behind enemy lines and flew to fight again before returning home to Lancaster as a successful businessman after World War II ended. Teichert, newly in command, cut loose a rare weekend day to pay his respects to the nearly 100-year-old veteran.

“We owe so much to those warriors,” Teichert said in a phone interview to mark the publication release date of “Boom!”

“We truly do stand on the shoulders of giants,” the recently retired general said.

Servant leadership the “Dragon” way is not about having an easy manner, or a mush of kindness. Teichert’s style of servant leadership embodies the qualities of listening, stopping to reflect and consider, then acting decisively.

Teichert was in command at Edwards from 2018 until his tenure was cut short in 2020 by a change of mission that took him to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad at a time when the International Zone of Iraq’s capital was under continuous attack, principally by Iranian-backed militias. By early 2021, the possibility of closing the embassy threatened. Small improvements, including tactically emplaced barbed wire, improved area security enough that the diplomatic mission survived, and the American flag remained above the embassy. It was teamwork, Teichert said that saved the mission, assisted by a counter-battery fire cannon.

The book, focusing on how Teichert’s team unleashed a fresh culture of innovation at the “Aerospace Test Center of the Universe,” is replete with anecdotes and historic events amid the dry lakebed runways and Joshua Trees of “Aerospace Valley.” One passage recounts how Chuck Yeager was nearly cut from graduating Test Pilot School at Edwards over jealousy of his achievement in breaking the sound barrier in 1947 before securing his diploma.

The waiver written by then base commander Gen. Albert Boyd ordering Yeager’s graduation is an example cited in “Boom!” about making exceptions, particularly for exceptional achievement.

The book counsels leaders to identify talented teammates who embrace reasonable risk to maximize reward for the organization. Look for idea people who have enthusiasm and support them, even when they fail, and especially when they succeed. Their success becomes the team’s shared success.

Among the dozens of “action items” listed at chapter conclusions is “Structure your organization’s innovation journey through bottom-up enthusiasm, not top-down direction.”

Teichert writes, “Leadership sets the tone for the culture and climate of an organization … A cultural change cannot be driven by top-down direction. It can and must be protected by senior leaders.”

As Teichert initiates a run for Senate in his adopted state of Maryland, his book is intended as a kind of “business card,” but it also reflects his own lifelong desire “to be of the maximum service possible that I can to my country.”

Teichert credits “Team Edwards” members, brother and sister officers, non-commissioned officers, and even junior personnel for having good ideas and pushing through to implement them. Including is credit assigned to a young, junior NCO, Staff Sgt. Michael Meyer, who successfully pitched have a TedX forum of speakers at Edwards.

“Everyone has latent greatness inside of them,” Teichert said. “Staff Sgt. Meyer is the poster child for how if you trust your people, give them the latitude to create and innovate, you get what he did with TedX.”

All this serves in the importance of “The Aerospace Center of The Universe” functioning effectively to provide for the needs of U.S. national security.

“I never thought I would write a book,” Teichert said, adding that “it can outlast anything you say verbally. I enjoyed writing it.” He added, “I really wish I would have taken more extensive notes during my time at Edwards.”

In addition to the book launch, Teichert is running as a Republican, he says, on a platform of “leadership, not politics.”

His concerns are, naturally enough for a career Air Force officer steeped in national security, that the United States maintains a position of strength. Also, that we maintain alliances with countries that share values of liberty and democracy.

Threats to a rules-based world order are coming from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, with China looming as the greatest power threat.

“Where there is weakness, or a lack of will or resolve, is the moment they will take action, and that would be catastrophic to the wellbeing of the planet,” he said.

“We need to continue to be concerned that they have a desire to transform the world in an image that is the opposite of a world order that benefits humanity.”

Whatever the outcome of his Senate run, “I have 30 active years … This is part of my firm desire and commitment to maximize my service to our nation.”

“I don’t have politics to offer,” he said. “Politics is what got us into this mess. Leadership is what will get us out.”

Teichert’s book can be purchased online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online booksellers.

Editor’s note: Dennis Anderson is a journalist who has covered commanders at Edwards Air Force Base for more than 35 years for area regional publications and the Associated Press. He serves on the Los Angeles County Veterans Advisory Commission as County Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s appointee.