Joining the military was never a question for John Phillips, 鈥�82. It鈥檚 been in his family鈥檚 blood for more than two centuries, tracing his heritage back to William Harper, a Scotch Irishman, who traveled from Belfast to Charleston, S.C., on the ship Earl of Donegal in the mid-1700s, settling in Lancaster County.
More recently, his uncle David Phillips served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; his aunt Marion Phillips Scherer served as U.S. Navy nurse stationed at Walter Reed Hospital and in Panama, also during World War II; another uncle, Charles Phillips, served in the U.S. Air Force; and his father, Steve Phillips Jr., served as an officer in the U.S. Army Infantry for 30 years, fighting in World War II and the Vietnam War.
鈥淭he tradition lives on with the newest addition, my nephew Steve Phillips IV, who currently serves in the U.S. Naval Reserve (and is an Orange County Deputy Sheriff),鈥� he says. 鈥淢y family has established a proud history of service and love of liberty, which is now simply a part of our DNA.鈥�
Phillips began his military journey after graduating from Oviedo High School. He was in the field artillery and spent a year in Oklahoma and two years in Augsburg, Germany. After receiving an honorable discharge two weeks after returning home, he started college at Valencia, with a concentration in business administration.
When he transferred to 麻豆原创, he joined the Army ROTC program 鈥� eventually becoming its corps commander 鈥� and was commissioned into the U.S. Army as a field artillery officer. During his career, he was stationed in Oklahoma, Germany, Colorado, Kentucky, Georgia and Saudi Arabia.
Through his experiences, he says he learned he can endure hostile weather and conditions and still come out just fine on the other end.
Retired from the Army, Phillips works as director of finance for the System of the Future at The Coca-Cola Company 鈥� an organization that has a long-standing relationship with the Armed Forces, dating back to World War II.
He credits his 麻豆原创 business degree as the reason he鈥檚 worked in corporate finance at Coca-Cola for the past 16 years, as well as the reason that allowed him to be selected as a U.S. Army comptroller.
Now, he鈥檚 sharing his military and business experiences in his first book, 鈥淏oots to Loafers: Finding Your True North.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e had [the book] in my mind for more than a decade,鈥� he explains. 鈥淸It] details how our veterans, who have fought the good fight, can now find a new 鈥榯rue north鈥� to help guide them through the journey toward their second life, or new normal, outside the gate.鈥�
Phillips had the opportunity to speak with fellow veterans about his book and experiences during the 麻豆原创 Book Festival in April.
鈥淚鈥檓 an avid veterans鈥� advocate, and helping those who will follow in my tracks is what I love to do,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have anyone doing that for me when I retired, and I wish I did.鈥�
REPORTING FOR Q&A DUTY
Q. What鈥檚 your least favorite word?
A. I have three off the top of my head. One is 鈥渄ude.鈥� I hate it. And, if anyone says it to me, I correct them quickly. I鈥檇 also say 鈥渘o鈥� is not one of my favorites either. It takes three 鈥渘o鈥漵 to make me go away, and then there鈥檚 no guarantees. And last, 鈥渟upposed to鈥� or 鈥渟hould.鈥� I hate it when people say this, because they are assuming something.
Q. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
A. Play the guitar like Stevie Ray Vaughn!
Q. What/who makes you laugh out loud?
A. Another 1982 麻豆原创 graduate and my best friend, Jim Lilly. We met on the practice football field at Oviedo High School trying to get the starting position on the team. We鈥檝e been best friends for more than four decades, and he lives right down the road from me here in Georgia!
Q. What鈥檚 your favorite movie?
A. I have three: 鈥淒irty Dozen,鈥� 鈥淛eremiah Johnson鈥� and 鈥淭he Great Escape.鈥�
Q. What鈥檚 the best concert you ever attended?
A. Eagles, 1977, Munich Olympia Halle. An incredible concert.
Q. What鈥檚 your favorite place to visit?
A. Three places come to mind: British Virgin Islands, St. George Island, and the great state of Idaho.
Q. What鈥檚 something you learned in the past week?
A. Patience. Go on vacation with six children and you learn to exercise a tremendous amount of patience and understanding. What we take for granted, they are just learning. Coach, teach, and mentor 鈥� just like I learned in the U.S. Army 鈥� holds true with kids.
Q. What鈥檚 the best piece of advice you鈥檝e ever received?
A. From my father: 鈥淎lways take the harder right!鈥�
Q. What or who inspires you?
A. I was inspired by my father. The things he did in his lifetime were incredible. He was one of the Greatest Generation鈥� He was raised on a farm in rural South Carolina and went to Clemson College (was not a university back then) on a Sears & Roebuck scholarship, was in World War II and Vietnam, and retired from the U.S. Army as a Colonel. After his military career, he sold brick across the state of Florida, and much of 麻豆原创 is his brick.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. My wife and I love the British Virgin Islands. I also head west with my brother and close friends, and we either whitewater raft or canoe in remote locations through the western U.S. I鈥檓 an avid outdoorsman and love being in very remote and primitive locations.