Dale Watson

Hometown: Carlisle, PA

PSU Connection: Employee

School: Penn State Harrisburg

Department: School of Business

Position: Professor

Memorable moment in your Penn State career: While my career as a professor at Penn State has just started, memorable moments for me are the day-to-day interactions with students, which is very rewarding and fun.

Active Duty or Veteran: Veteran

Branch: Army

Rank: COL

Rate/MOS: Aviation

Where/when did you serve: Ft. Rucker, Al; Ft. Bragg, NC; Illesheim, Germany; Ft. Polk, LA; Ft. Sill, OK; Ft. Hood, TX; Rochester Institute of Technology, NY; University of Connecticut, CT; United States Army War College, Carlisle, PA; three tours Iraq, one tour to Bosnia; 1989-2019

Awards: Legion of Merit, 2 x Bronze Stars, Air Medal, 6 x Meritorious Service Medals, 5 x Army Commendation Medals, 4 x Army Achievement Medals, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait), NATO Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, and Army Service Ribbon. Qualifications include Senior Rated Aviator Wings, Senior Rated Airborne Badge, and Air Assault Badge.

What was your favorite military assignment/duty station and why? All of my duty assignments were memorable because of the great people I was privileged to work with, but if I had to pick one it would probably be my time in Illesheim, Germany. Not only was the unit phenomenal, it was where I met my wife and the rest is history.

Dale Watson, Army, COL (ret), served thirty years on active duty in the United States Army. As an Army Aviator, he flew the Longbow Apache Attack Helicopter and served in various leadership and staff positions from platoon leader through Squadron Commander. His overseas deployments included multiple tours to Iraq and one tour to Bosnia in support of the Dayton Peace Accords. His last assignment was at the United States Army War College as the Chair for the Department of Command Leadership and Management. His time at the War College inspired his passion for teaching and education, which allowed him to transition into academia at Penn State University. Dale currently teaches team dynamics, leadership, organizational behavior, and organizational change topics at Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Business and Penn State World Campus’ MBA program.