Military academy alumni reflect on service and leadership at INL ahead of Army-Navy game

The 2025 Army-Navy college football game kicks off Dec. 13 in Baltimore, Maryland, continuing one of America’s most storied rivalries.

First played in 1890, Army-Navy has endured through wars, peace and generations of cadets and midshipmen. Army-Navy stands apart as more than game — it’s a national tradition that honors service and sacrifice. Every player on the field has taken an oath to defend the nation with their lives. Its traditions embody duty, discipline and respect between rivals who serve the same nation.

In the days leading up to this year’s Army-Navy game, the Idaho National Laboratory salutes its military academy graduates by highlighting a few employees who have graduated from West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy. These alums embody a spirit of duty and leadership, honor and integrity, and commitment to service and excellence that strengthens INL’s mission every day.

U.S. Military Academy — West Point

Kase Brock, Safeguards and Security executive director

For Kase Brock, the road to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point started in Pasadena, Texas. He was a ’70s kid with two working parents and a lot of freedom. His father, uncle and grandparents all wore the uniform.

Brock was headed toward a career in architecture, following in his brother’s footsteps. But he concluded that a desk job wasn’t a good match. He realized West Point offered adventure, Army service and a way to pay for college.

However, getting in was a challenge. Like most military academies, West Point admission rates usually hover just above 10% — as selective as other top-tier universities. Brock didn’t get in on the first try, so he attended a civilian university to prove he could handle the academics. He reapplied and was accepted on his second attempt. “For me, it was a test to see how you respond when you don’t get what you want the first time,” he said. “You own it and you deal with it.”

At West Point, the corps of cadets was full of leaders — valedictorians, star athletes and other high achievers. Classes were small, often a dozen cadets around a U-shaped table. Cadets taught themselves lessons prior to class, then presented their work in front of the class. Days consisted of academics, frequent formations and military training. All West Point cadets are required to be student-athletes.

For Brock, that rigor meant he must remain fully accountable and engaged. West Point helped him learn to make decisions without perfect information and take full responsibility for outcomes. A special forces mentor reinforced that lesson — the best units weren’t authoritarian, they were teams where the leader listened to their people, set the direction and owned the result.

After 21 years of Army active duty that included time in the infantry, 101st Airborne, Army Special Forces, 11 combat deployments, time in Cambodia and Burma, and later running programs at Fort Bragg — Brock joined the lab in 2019. He was immediately struck by how much national security work happens at INL that the public never sees.

As Safeguards and Security executive director, he manages the development and application of the lab’s physical security. Safeguards and Security, he said, is “the final line” protecting national security work. His approach is to remove excuses, encourage ownership and shift from a mindset of compliance for its own sake to security that enables the mission.

“It takes dedicated people to show up every single day, willing to do hard things in hard environments and willing to persevere, regardless of what kind of obstacles are in their way,” he said.

Heidi Dillard, chief Human Resources officer

Heidi Dillard grew up between U.S. Army posts in Germany and suburban Maryland. Her parents, an American soldier and a Korean mother, expected their daughters to work hard, be respectful and aim high. When it came time for college, she received several scholarship offers, but she wanted to chart her own course.

West Point offered everything at once: a way to pay for school, a guaranteed path to meaningful work and a place where she could stand on her own. “It was the trifecta,” she said. “I could make my own way, serve and graduate with a skill set.”

Despite growing up on military bases, her initial time at West Point provided plenty of culture shock. Orders came fast, days were overfilled and dorms lacked locks. There’s no need for locks when cadets are trained from day one not to lie, cheat or steal. A West Point freshman lives in uniform 24/7 on a tight schedule.

Dillard watched a talented roommate struggle and eventually leave. That moment convinced her that succeeding required an internal decision to see past the gray granite to the real goals of the academy: building character, unlocking potential and teaching cadets to choose laughter over misery when they were cold, wet or tired. It was the right mindset for such a demanding environment.

“I had a really good West Point experience,” she said. “For every hard thing, there were 10 people lifting you up.”

She was first drawn to INL’s mission from hearing the way employees talked about protecting the nation and the fact the lab runs “almost like a small city” — one nearly the size of Rhode Island.

Now the chief Human Resources officer at INL, Dillard sees a similar culture of service — just aimed at energy and national security instead of the Army’s next generation of leaders. When she was first approached about a career opportunity at INL, she didn’t know much about the lab. She did know that serving a mission-based organization has always been important to her.

“I love people and I love the people business,” she said. “I care about what an organization is doing with their technology, with their product, with their business and how they’re bettering their communities. I’ve always wanted to serve and give back in different ways.”

She’s now focused on providing the standards, processes and support systems to develop the diverse talent and expertise that INL needs to solve some of the nation’s most complex problems. The way Dillard explains it, the lab has expanded her ability to serve.

“It’s not just about service to the nation in a physical security sense,” she said. “It’s also about service to others.”

Brian Lyttle, critical infrastructure senior manager for National and Homeland Security

Brian Lyttle’s father was a Department of Energy engineer who worked at various DOE sites and national laboratories.

Growing up, Lyttle was an Eagle Scout who loved the outdoors and contact sports. As he started thinking about college and his future career, he saw West Point as an opportunity for service, leadership training and a guaranteed job after graduation. He was the first person in his family to serve in the military.

Lyttle’s experience as an Eagle Scout and an athlete made West Point a good fit, but it was still difficult. “I wasn’t the brilliant cadet,” he said. “I got through on perseverance and grit.”

That grit was forged in West Point’s “unrelenting pressure.” It included 6:30 a.m. formations, full academic loads, leadership duties and the requirement to participate in sports — all inside an honor system where cutting corners gets people sent home.

Going from Albuquerque, New Mexico’s high-altitude desert environment to New York’s mid-Atlantic summers, 90-degree heat, 100% humidity and no air conditioning were all part of Lyttle’s West Point experience. “It was chaotic, hectic and it didn’t stop for four years,” he said.

Lyttle commissioned into the Army as an artillery officer, later moved into acquisition and cyber roles, and spent nearly three decades helping the Army field and secure complex defense systems. That career eventually led him to follow his father’s footsteps at DOE.

He now serves as a senior manager for INL’s National and Homeland Security directorate, helping teams protect the nation’s power grid and other critical infrastructure. Lyttle oversees programs that focus on the operational technology cybersecurity of infrastructure. This work protects the security and resilience of control systems that maintain functionality of our electricity, water and supply chain services against cyber threats and vulnerabilities.

Lyttle emphasized how veterans bring specific values to INL, a habit of taking ownership, doing hard things and finishing what the mission requires, even when the job is bigger than their resume.

U.S. Naval Academy — Annapolis

Bill Kiestler, chief operations officer for National and Homeland Security

Bill Kiestler didn’t set out to attend one of the nation’s most elite education institutions. He didn’t even learn about the U.S. Naval Academy until after joining the Navy. “One of my chiefs asked if I was going to apply to the Naval Academy,” Kiestler said. “I told him, ‘What’s the Naval Academy?’”

The son of a retired Army soldier, Kiestler grew up in a small Washington town where college felt out of reach. “I couldn’t afford college,” he said. “So, I joined the Navy and their nuclear program, thinking I’d go in and apply for an ROTC scholarship.”

Kiestler first enlisted in the Navy as a nuclear electrician, which set him on a lifelong path in nuclear engineering. Getting into U.S. military academies is a difficult, lengthy process that includes getting nominations from members of Congress. After long study hours and with the aid of a typewriter, Kiestler secured several nominations, including one from President Ronald Reagan.

Six months later, he walked through the gates of Annapolis. At the Naval Academy, Kiestler was surrounded by the most disciplined and high-performing students in the country. “I was probably more prepared for the physical challenges than the mental ones,” he said. “They threw so much at you to memorize and keep your mind sharp. It was 80% mental.”

Every plebe was expected to recall the content of Reef Points, a dense book of naval history, customs and chains of command, at a moment’s notice.

“If an upperclassman asked you something, the only right answers were ‘Yes, sir,’ ‘No, sir,’ or ‘I’ll find out, sir,’” Kiestler said. “You never said ‘I don’t know.’ They were teaching ownership and initiative.”

At INL, Kiestler draws on that sense of ownership. He joined the lab in 2011 and has played a central role in expanding its National and Homeland Security mission, overseeing programs in infrastructure resilience, explosives research and cybersecurity, and other areas.

“At INL, you’re leading brilliant people,” he said. “You lead through influence, collaboration and trust.”

For Kiestler, service has evolved from defending the nation at sea to protecting it through science. “At Annapolis, I learned what it meant to be part of something bigger than myself,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing here — helping secure the nation’s future, not for profit, but for purpose.”

U.S. Air Force Academy — Colorado Springs

A.J. Harris, construction project program manager for Materials and Fuels Complex

A.J. Harris grew up in the Boise, Idaho, area, the oldest of five children who played sports. After 9/11, applying to the U.S. Air Force Academy became a no-brainer — a way to serve while attending an elite institution.

At the academy, Harris walked on to the wrestling team. His daily schedule typically included 6 a.m. runs and lifts, 21-plus credit courseloads, afternoon practice and military training. He usually didn’t start his homework until 7 p.m. Wrestling added extra pressure to an already grueling schedule, but it also provided a support system.

“Being part of the wrestling team at that level not only helped me survive the academy,” he said, “it gave me a family and really reinforced that if you want to go fast, go alone — if you want to go far, go together.”

Harris’ academy experience reinforced important leadership lessons. For example, “a good decision made with imperfect information is often better than a perfect decision made too late.” He also learned to be flexible, but never quit. These lessons weren’t just learned from a textbook or in a classroom, they were put to the test and imprinted through experience.

“One’s true character is revealed when you’re exhausted, things look their bleakest and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “I’ve learned the key to thriving in those situations is staying composed under pressure, knowing there is always more left in the tank.”

He carried that mindset through an Air Force civil engineering career that included assignments in Alaska’s remote radar sites, master planning at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, typhoon recovery in Korea, building schools and hospitals in Belize, and construction projects throughout the country —work that centered on giving teams safe, functional locations to execute their missions.

Now at INL, he manages construction on the Sample Preparation Laboratory — the first hot-cell facility of its kind built in the U.S. in decades — helping the lab test the materials needed for the next generation of nuclear reactors.

“At INL, it’s the same sense of purpose I experienced in the Air Force,” he said. “We’re helping secure the nation’s energy future.”

Krystal Murphy, Safety and Compliance division director for Advanced Test Reactor Programs

Krystal Murphy’s story started in a tiny Nebraska town in a family that couldn’t afford to fully fund college. During a trip, her family stopped at the overlook in Colorado Springs above the U.S. Air Force Academy. “If you wanted to, you could go there,” her father said.

Murphy was inspired by astronaut Sally Ride and a love of science and space. The academy became a path that fully made sense to her. It provided a way to serve, pay for school and do something bigger than herself.

The academy is nicknamed the “Blue Zoo” because tourists were able to look down at the cadets from the chapel.

“I remember as I was walking past the chapel wall, a little girl pointed at me and said, ‘Look mom, there’s a girl one,’” Murphy said. “I was part of the 10th class with women at the time.”

Back then, women made up only about 10% of the cadet wing, which sometimes presented its own challenges. But like every new cadet, she was expected to learn fast, follow strict discipline and operate as part of a team. Murphy still laughs when she thinks back to how intense the attention to detail was at the academy. For example, on Day 1 she was yelled at “for being friendly,” and she recalls how it was a requirement to stay on the outside marble trim of the terrazzo when marching.

The academy is a “leadership laboratory,” Murphy said. It teaches cadets to lead through influence, rather than rank. It teaches cadets to solve problems under stress — while hungry, cold and tired — during survival and evasion training in the mountains. It also teaches them to be accountable to the people going through the same hardships alongside them.

After serving a 30-year Air Force career as a bioenvironmental engineer, INL felt familiar — mission-focused people, many of them veterans, all working in service to the nation.

INL didn’t feel like a big adjustment because she was used to collaborative environments. “Especially at a strategic level, the military is very collaborative. A general doesn’t walk in and say, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do,’ he says, ‘Team, I need five options for this problem.” That approach to service shows up almost unchanged at INL. To Murphy, both environments use similar mindsets because both are solving complex problems.

Her role at INL includes overseeing its Advanced Test Reactor safety and compliance division. As the world’s highest powered test reactor, safety is paramount.

“I have found that people at INL tend to be mission-focused because they get that what they’re working towards is for the greater good.”