Kyle McIntyre joined the Navy on his 18th birthday. He had dropped out of high school the year before after realizing he wouldn’t graduate on time. He never even bothered to take the SAT.
Fast forward 12 years, and he has a bachelor’s degree from USFSP and is working on his second master’s. In January, he will move from his current job at the Pentagon to the White House, where he will serve as a Defense Legislative Analyst through a federal training program for emerging leaders.
“When I was younger, I didn’t have self-esteem, and most of that was self-inflicted,” explained McIntyre, adding that he always envisioned a career serving. “But I do attribute part of my success to some of the tougher times I’ve experienced. I would do it all over again if I could.”
Through four years of active duty, McIntyre worked long hours and served back-to-back deployments. It was hard. But the Navy also broadened his world. He was on the first American ship to reach Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. He spent time in Brazil and Peru working with their military. And he took a handful of college classes—earning grades far higher than he expected.
Suddenly college seemed doable—a pathway to a future he wanted for himself.
“I was reading books, taking classes, paying attention to world events,” he said. “I wanted to be at a higher level, and every award I got, every class I completed, everything I did furthered that desire and the belief that I could do it.”
From South Florida originally, Kyle enrolled as a political science major at USFSP (and a member of the Air Force Reserve) in 2013. During his first semester, Professor Judithanne McLauchlan announced she was running as a Democrat for the Florida State Senate. McIntyre offered to volunteer for her campaign.
He helped with fundraising, organizing the field office, and representing McLauchlan at community forums. He got to meet people — including some from Gwen Graham’s campaign for Congress. While McLauchlan lost her race, Graham won. Soon after, McIntyre was offered a position in Graham’s Tallahassee field office.
He commuted between Tallahassee and St. Petersburg during his final semester, still reporting to MacDill Air Force Base for drill one weekend a month.
As Graham’s term approached its end, McIntyre took a job serving as a Congressional Liaison Specialist for the U.S. Air Force, representing the Secretary of the Air Force in meetings with Air Force leaders and members of Congress. Less than a year later, he was promoted to his current position of Deputy Branch Chief for Congressional Reports.
We recently spoke with McIntyre to learn more about his journey so far.
Tell us more about your current job at the Pentagon.
My primary responsibility is writing and coordinating correspondence with Congress,
responding to Congressional inquiries, working with both the House and the Senate.
I also serve as a representative of the Secretary of the Air Force’s Legislative Liaison
in meetings, and I get to travel a lot, escorting members of Congress on travel sponsored
by the Department of Defense. I recently took a Congressional delegation to Finland,
Poland and France. We flew in on military air and got go to around and meet with NATO
allies.
What’s coming next for you?
I recently applied for—and received—an opportunity to serve as a Defense Legislative
Analyst in the White House for six months through the Office of Management and Budget’s
Professional Development Exchange and Training Program. Whenever you see a defense
official testify on Capitol Hill, that testimony has to be cleared by the White House.
My job will be to take the testimony and make sure that the National Security Council
and other defense leaders approve of it at the White House. It will be an interesting
experience to see the government from a top-down view.
What do you like about working in government?
I think it’s amazing that, as a staffer, you can have input on things that could affect
the entire country or the entire world. I want to leave the world a different and
better place because I was here. I don’t have to be famous, but if I can help work
on national policies that leave society better, that would be amazing. I gave input
to Congresswoman Graham when I worked for her. It wasn’t always accepted, but sometimes
it was.
Where do you see yourself down the road? Where would you like to be?
I try to keep myself open and prepared, as I think that’s the best way to make an
impact. I never imagined I would be doing this for the Air Force as a civilian. I
never thought I’d be on an Air Force One-like jet in Poland to tour NATO bases. I
don’t think I could have planned for the jobs I’ve had. I just try to be prepared
for when the opportunity arises.
What makes a good leader?
There’s the managerial aspect—allocating time, prioritizing, taking responsibility;
and then there are people skills. When you’re a leader in any capacity, people should
always be your number one concern. People tend to rise to the expectations you set
for them, and as a leader you have a responsibility to mentor. I also think a leader
has a responsibility to be candid. When someone has to make a big decision and you
have input, as a leader you have a responsibility to make that known. If you bring
me to a meeting, if I have what I believe to be constructive input, I’m going to give
it.
Final question: Why did you choose USFSP?
I had heard a lot of great things. Then when I toured and saw it was on the water,
that was the final straw. I think all of my professors at USFSP were great. Some,
like Judithanne, were more involved in personal development than others. But they
were all very knowledgeable, both in the field and in classes, and excited about what
they were teaching. I remember being engaged. And then sitting outside by the water
to do homework, or in the library, was just fabulous.