Major Blankenship urges Buncombe County Schools top scholars to make character the base of leadership

Major Caleb Blankenship, a speechwriter and special adviser to the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Buncombe County Schools' top scholars that leadership is built on character and earned authority, not merely power or rank.

Blankenship, an Owen High School graduate who went on to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and later earned graduate degrees from Harvard University and U.S. Army schools, framed his remarks around the idea that "character is the bedrock of leadership" and that leadership ultimately is "influence." He told the students to decide first who they want to be and let that choice guide subsequent decisions about college, careers and relationships.

The nut graf: Blankenship said students face many important choices — classes, majors, jobs and where to live — but urged them not to "miss the forest for the trees" and to let a commitment to character and service…