Orbis Torva Messor - Volume 2

This book is the second volume of my experience during a unique period in world history. The year covered in this book is 2021. This book is not only a documentary of my experience, it is also intended to refine the mountain of knowledge we have already collected on the topic of leadership. Times of crisis will often reveal the true character of people occupying leadership positions. It often also reveals leaders who step into the breach who are not in an official leadership position. In early 2020, the world was hit with a pandemic such as my generation had never before experienced. While the world has undoubtedly had pandemics in the past, and several close calls from other deadly viruses, the COVID-19 virus presented a real global challenge. While its origins will be debated for some time to come and perhaps never fully resolved, let it suffice to state that most of the planet's seven billion inhabitants were affected in some way, shape, or form by this monumental event. While this story began in 2020 (refer to Orbis Torva Messor – Volume 1 – 2020), this volume focuses upon the events I experienced in California and Las Vegas during 2021 as viewed through a leadership lens and the continuing pursuit to corral the COVID virus.

After a challenging year for everyone on planet Earth in 2020, COVID continued to wreak havoc moving into 2021. Little did anyone realize just how devastating this virus would prove to be and the number of lives that would be adversely impacted. The year 2021 started off by finding me at home where I was able to enjoy the holidays. That fortune quickly turned in early February when I was summoned to the Region IX Office in Oakland to once again assist in combatting Mr. COVID. After having spent six months at the epicenter of this pandemic last year in New York/New Jersey, since that point, the epicenter crossed the country and now was smack dab in California! From California, it was off to Las Vegas on a White House-supported mission to assist in increasing the low vaccination rates in this COVID hotbed where the Delta variant was quickly taking hold. During both of these 2021 deployments, I met some more outstanding people who were doing their very best to assist people in need while navigating through a bureaucratic system not designed for swift intervention! This deployment experience would turn out to be yet another great leadership laboratory in which many lessons could be captured, learned, and shared. During such times of crisis, true leaders step up to meet the challenge no matter how daunting the task. Others occupying leadership positions without the requisite skill sets to be successful simply died on the vine and had very little positive impact! It is through this leadership lens that I begin this next adventure in 2021 in California.

Dr. Waite earned his doctorate from Walden University in Applied Management and Decision Sciences with a specialization in Leadership and Organizational Change. As a fire chief (retired) and commissioned officer (retired Colonel) in the United States Army, Dr. Waite has a proven track record in the field of leadership. His creative and innovative approaches led to organizational success for the Wisconsin Rapids (WI) Fire Department and several military units he commanded. Dr. Waite was a member of the fire service for over 26 years and a member of the United States military for 42 years. Due to his lifetime of service to his country and community, Dr. Waite received a lifetime achievement award from the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge #693 in 2018. Dr. Waite was also inducted into the Lincoln High School (Wisconsin Rapids) Hall of Fame in 2022 for his lifetime achievements, as well as being inducted into the State of Wisconsin Fire & Police Hall of Fame in 2023 for his fire service career accomplishments. Dr. Waite has also been a visiting professor for over 36 years and instructs traditional, online, and blended courses for several universities. Some of his areas of instruction are leadership principles and concepts, corporate management, strategic planning, and organizational effectiveness. Since his retirement from the fire service and the military, Dr. Waite has continued his lifetime of service by becoming a FEMA Safety Advisor, a member of Saratoga (WI) EMS, an instructor with Team Rubicon, a contract instructor for the National Fire Academy, a member of his county's Critical Incident Stress Management Team, and an active member of his local VFW. Dr. Waite is also the founder and President of the Double Diamond Leadership Authority, LLC which specializes in leadership development and training, and executive level recruitment (www.doublediamondleadership.org). Dr. Waite has also authored eight books, Fire Service Leadership – Theories and Practices (2008); The EMS Leadership Challenge – A Call to Action (2009); 400 Days – A Call to Duty (2010)/Two Volumes; It's All About Leadership (2016); Essential Characteristics for Effective Leaders (2020; the quasi-fictional Quest of the Phalanx I (2021); a book highlighting his ancestral roots Waite(e)-a-Minute: This Book is a Keeper(s) (2022); and Orbis Torva Messor – Volume 1 (2022). Quest of the Phalanx II is due out in the summer of 2024. Dr. Waite is also working on a leadership theory book, as well as a book for junior leaders.