At 20 years old, Rob Sands had a few things on his mind that may have been a bit different than his typical peer.

Sands had just become a first lieutenant in the Kansas National Guard, and he was in charge of a tank platoon — four tanks valued at millions of dollars and, more importantly, all of the soldiers who go with them. All of this was 13 years ago, right in the aftermath of 9/11, and America’s entry into a new type of war.

But Sands did face one issue that other 20-year olds had to deal with: He wasn’t yet old enough to have a drink of alcohol.

City Commission candidate Rob Sands

“Trust me, tank crews were not ashamed to give me a hard time about that,” said Sands. “I’m just now getting to the point that I’m not the youngest guy in the room.”

Sands, one of 14 candidates for the Lawrence City Commission, is now 33 years old, and is a full-time officer in the Kansas National Guard. He’s risen to the rank of major, and is second in command of a unit that has 900 soldiers with facilities in seven cities across the state.

During his tenure with the National Guard, he has picked up a nickname: the young old man. Sands is hopeful that the old part refers to leadership skills that go beyond his age. Sands said a career that places a high emphasis on being a leader should serve him well as a city commissioner.

“I’ve learned a lot about leadership,” Sands said. “One thing I have learned is there is a difference between being a manager and a leader.”

A new style

Sands has received training in both art forms, leadership and management. Sands — who grew up in Kansas City, Kan. but has lived in Lawrence since 2001 — received a degree from the military junior college of Marion Military Institute in Alabama. He has since received a general studies degree from Kansas University, and now is halfway done with a master’s degree in public administration from KU.

Sands’ degree from the military institute allowed him to join the National Guard as an officer. The decision to be a full-time guard member, he said, was easy. His father had served as a Marine, and both his grandfathers served in the military. He said his only other career thought was to become a police officer.

“I was just raised with the idea of a tradition of service,” Sands said. “People thank me for my service all the time, and I tell them that I’m thankful I can serve. I’m personally grateful that I get to do this.”

Sands has been deployed overseas three times since joining the guard, to Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. He continues to be trained as a specialist in tank warfare, but much of his day-to-day duties as an officer involve planning and administrative functions to keep the unit running smoothly. He said that work now occurs in what the military calls a “constrained budget environment.” Funding for the armed forces is on the decline, which means officers like Sands are tasked with finding ways to do the same job with fewer resources. He said that is a skill that will come in handy at City Hall.

Leadership, he said, will be an important part of the process. Sands said the military has taught him that often when people think they are examining a problem they actually are just examining a symptom. It also has taught him the value of “collaborative leadership” and that good leaders often are “intuitive and compassionate.” He knows the idea of a compassionate military officer may surprise some, but he said the military teaches a different style of leadership than it once did.

“In the last 10 years of my career, I have realized that you don’t get things done in the Army by barking orders and yelling at people,” Sands said. “It is more about explaining ‘the why’ these days. The generation today has a sense of service, and they want to contribute responsibly. If you can get them to understand the intent, they will problem-solve for themselves, and they may be able to do the job better, faster and cheaper than how I can tell them to do it.”

Issues

Sands said the issues he hears most about from small businesses and voters is the city’s tax structure and its use of development incentives.

“We need to have a tax schedule that pays for the necessary things that make a city run, but it also has to respect the citizens’ proprietary right to their own money,” Sands said.

On other issues, Sands said:

• The need for improved police facilities has been present for the better part of 30 years. He said he supports creating a plan to improve facilities, but said the city needs to do a better job of determining how new facilities will improve police department engagement with the community and what it will mean to citizens.

“It should be about increasing the police department’s capabilities, not just having a new building.”

• He thinks the condition of major thoroughfares in Lawrence is improving as the result of increased maintenance work by the city. But he said he would vote to start addressing residential streets that need resurfacing.

More 2015 City Commission primary election coverage

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