Leader in the U.S. Marines, now a leader in higher education passionate about mentoring men

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — He was a proven leader for 21 years in the United States Marine Corps. He founded his own company in his hometown, and now he shares his life and business experiences as the Director of the Kansas Family Business Forum at Wichita State University.

Lance Minor was born on Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day. So, he says he was destined to be a Marine. He was recruited from a young age from the living room of his childhood home, sitting in front of the TV set.

“Early morning Saturday cartoons. Between commercials, I would see ‘The Few. The Proud. The Marines’. So, I’d think, ‘I can do that,'” said Minor.

When Minor graduated from Wichita East High School in 1991, he was already the father of a baby daughter.

“‘At 18, I had my own baby to take care of, though I was still a boy myself when I arrived at the depot, dreaming of the freedom I gave up. The airport was right there across the physical training field. Motley Crew’s ‘Home Sweet Home’ wormed into our ears, and we longed to be on one of those planes,'” he read aloud.

Minor reads from a poem he recently wrote, which is a culmination of his journey, which began with a choice.

“I decided I was going to be a Marine. I was going to be a real Marine, and so I signed up as an 0311 contract 03 Infantry Marine”, he explained. “So, I did my first four years as an infantry Marine. Along the way, I realized I was probably smarter than a lot of the guys I was serving with, and my leaders recognized that in me and pulled me into some more. I was kind of like Radar Riley from ‘MASH.’ I was the company clerk for a while because I knew how to work with computers at the time.”

“Computers were pretty new to the Marine Corps, so they dumped the computer on my desk and said, ‘What can you do with this?’ So, I filled my acumen that way and eventually got pulled up into the Operations Officer Operations office,” he continued.

Minor developed operational and tactical plans for his battalion. Then, he was promoted to a new MOS, the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). He carried that designation for 13 years.

“My first deployment was to Okinawa, Japan, as part of the unit deployment program, UDP. So, I was there for six months. We visited South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand,” he said. “Later on, I was deployed back to Japan with my family for over three years. We were in Japan, in Okinawa, during 9/11.”

Later, he was deployed to a duty station in Miami. While he was there, Minor earned his Master’s Degree in English at Florida International University. Then, he was hand-selected to be an Academic Director in Hawaii for three years.

“And then I left there and went to One MEF in Camp Pendleton. That’s where I deployed for ten months to Afghanistan,” said Minor.

In Afghanistan, Minor was involved in strategic level planning. He says this is one of the sources of the survivor’s remorse he has felt for years.

“The job I did is very important, and things can’t happen unless somebody does it. But on the other hand, when you know the sacrifices other people are making, and you contrast that with the fortunate position that I was in, it can definitely prompt and stimulate some guilt,” said Minor.

Minor says he led an amazing team in Afghanistan.

“I mean, my team was responsible for something that had never been done in the history of the world. We put together a plan to move 12 main battle tanks into Afghanistan, which is a landlocked country, and the only way we could get them in there was via air,” he explained. “And the challenging aspect is that the Air Force C5 Galaxies weren’t available. So we had to jump through some hoops to get authorization to fly those tanks into Afghanistan using Russian aircraft.”

“Then I received a Meritorious Service Medal for it. So, my team was amazing. We did some amazing stuff,” he continued.

Minor retired in 2012, ending a distinguished 21-year military career.

He returned home with an idea.

“When I was living in Hawaii, I started home brewing beer and won some home brew awards. I came back home to Wichita and recognized that the beer scene here back in 2011 was underdeveloped,” he said.

He founded Aero Plains Brewery, which opened in the fall of 2016 in the Delano District. The brewery was a big hit, but it closed four years later during COVID-19.

“My time in Afghanistan, though harrowing and troublesome and emotionally taxing, closing Aero Plains Brewing was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done,” said Minor.

So, Minor fell back into higher education at Wichita State. First, working at the Shocker Career Accelerator. Now, he’s the Director of the Kansas Family Business Forum.

“There’s a chance that I get to share my life experiences, the wisdom that I’ve gained over the years, the business acumen that I’ve gained, garnered through success and failure, and then share that with my members,” Minor said.

He’s also a very talented writer. Here, he shares the story of losing a fellow Marine and close friend in a helicopter accident in 1996:

“‘Ever onward. Never quit. Kirk’s words are written on my mirror, overlayed against my aging face, a reminder of busted shins and broken boys. The ones we lost, my dusty tears, and the cost of other failures throughout my years. This is the crucible that forged me, but I am no piece of steel. No, none of us are. But we are tough. That we are,'” Minor read aloud.

Minor’s poem was published by “The War Horse” about a year ago. He continues to mentor veterans with PTSD and coaches them in entrepreneurship and personal development.

He and two more veterans from Wichita, including Aaron Childress, have plans to start a YouTube channel called “The Key’s In The Contrast.” They plan to discuss men’s health, and to talk about how everyone in our society has an opportunity to be a leader. The channel should launch in September.

If you want to nominate a veteran for our Veteran Salute, email KSN reporter Jason Lamb at jason.lamb@ksn.com .

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