Faculty, administrators, and BYU ROTC cadets gathered in Brigham Square in November for the 2025 Presidential Review, hosted by the BYU Air Force and Army ROTC programs. General Bruce A. Carlson, U.S. Air Force Retired, was honored with the 2025 Leadership Award for his dedicated service to both The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the United States. In his address, Carlson encouraged cadets to use their knowledge of gospel principles for peace and perspective during their military service.
As a former command pilot who has logged over 3,300 flying hours, Carlson led major operational, research, and acquisition organizations, including Air Force Materiel Command. And, as a general authority emeritus of the Church, Carlson served in assignments with the Middle East/Africa North Area and the North America Central Area. Carlson now uses his 38 years of military leadership in consulting in the aerospace and defense sector.
Carlson’s lifetime of service set the tone for the event program that also highlighted the character of cadets. C. Shane Reese, university president, commended the cadets for their representation of BYU values and service. “As part of a BYU ROTC cadre, you recognize that a commitment to excellence in your pursuits is important, and you are also remarkably consistent and committed to your faith,” he said.
Reflecting on his own military experience, Carlson assured cadets of their divine identity, encouraging them to trust in the Lord’s plan of salvation in their military pursuits. “There’s no plan for you to fail. There’s no plan for you to become something less than that honorable son or daughter of God,” he said.
Carlson illustrated that trust as he spoke about when, early on in his military service, he was asked to fly in a difficult mission. “The phrase for that particular mission was going ‘downtown.’” Going ‘downtown,’ he explained, referred to a section of Vietnam that was the most heavily defended area in the world. Pilots had to maneuver around geographic obstacles and slip past enemy missiles undetected to reach a waypoint on the other side. “It was a death-defying feat,” he said.
But Carlson explained how peace came to him from the knowledge of God’s plan. Using that mission as a metaphor for life, General Carlson advised the cadets to prepare spiritually for those inevitable trials. “This may be the mission that all of your training has led you to; the one where you’ll be called upon to use every skill you possess,” he said.
General Carlson said that ‘downtown’ experiences may happen throughout life. But he also said that the gospel of Jesus Christ provides a valuable outlook. “That perspective is a sacred and holy grail that very few in this life have,” he said. “It keeps your faith intact when you don’t have answers to very personal and important questions. That perspective relies on those things we know to be true and never deviates from the basic tenets of our faith.”
And in spite of those surprises and trials, Carlson told cadets that it’s always better to trust in the Lord’s plan. “Some things may look like a detour to you, but you’ll find that by following the Lord’s hints, you will end up in a much better place than you would have ever pursued in your individual annex.”
