As a husband and new father, Jim realized he needed to create generational wealth for his family. His military retirement and TSP savings just would not be enough.
Although business is great, long term wealth creation is the sustainment plan for Jim’s family.
Jim joined the US Air Force in 1994 as an E-3 (Airman First Class) as a Communications-Computer Systems Operator where he learned discipline, followership, team building, and computer networking skills.
The USAF needed technical leadership and quickly selected him for Officer Training School and made him a Second Lieutenant. In his first several officer assignments he applied his lessons learned from his short time in the enlisted corps.
He understood the need to get input from the team, make an informed decision, and lead by example.
He was often the first to volunteer for new opportunities and leadership challenges. Each new leadership opportunity led him to recognize his need for an MBA in IT, which he earned in his off-duty time. As soon as he had his MBA, he separated from the military, but was quickly recalled to active duty after the tragic events on 9/11.
A year later, he worked with Lockheed Martin standing up the Information Assurance Branch in the newly formed Combatant Command called NORTHCOM while he rededicated himself to returning to active-duty full time.
His resolve to defend our nation was galvanized. Upon his return to active duty, he began working in the Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Surveillance (ISR) portion of the Air Force. Jim learned how the joint (Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, and now Space Force) all worked together utilizing ISR capabilities to maximize warfighter effectiveness.
This new understanding shaped his future not only in terms of learning new disciplines, but also in how the world’s economies worked and how national instruments of power integrate.
In summary, Lt Col(r) Cropper participated in more than 16 named operations and many more unnamed operations. He deployed to the Middle East in a combat role 2003-2004, commanded a squadron in South Korea with the only operational mission on the peninsula while leading more than 400 personnel, and led the Joint Crisis Planning and Embassy evacuations during operations and/or military exercises in Morocco, Mali, Libya, and many other Northwest African nations.
By now, you may be asking, “how does this relate to real estate?” The answer lies in critical thinking about macro and microeconomics. Understanding how things influence each other drives leverage, which in turn impacts power and money.
One of Lt Col Cropper’s final assignments was as the Lead Crisis Planner for Northwest Africa from 2010-2013, which was during the Arab Spring.
This was the culmination of a career of integrated understanding between national instruments of power in a multinational environment that drove a deeper understanding of national economic systems at the macro level, which has a direct impact on the micro level within industries.
This top-down view drove his focus after retiring from the USAF in 2014 towards creating businesses that cashflow while simultaneously investing in long term generational wealth assets that are influenced by our economy instead of just the stock market.
Lt Col(r) Jim Cropper’s goal with Next Command and Freedom Funds is to provide active-duty military and military retirees with the shortcut to understanding what took him years to recognize and not only say “Thank you for your service” to his fellow veterans, but also to provide them the understanding and ability to create their own generational wealth. As he learned during his time as an enlisted Airman, “don’t direct what you aren’t willing to do yourself.” To achieve his long-term wealth starting point, he transitioned his Thrift Savings Plan, Traditional and Roth IRAs into a Self-Directed IRA to invest 95% of his TSP/IRA in his first Class A Apartment building in Savannah, GA.
He then sold all the single-family homes he acquired while in the military (using his VA eligibility) and is currently investing in multi-family real estate, storage units, and in Freedom Funds.
As a husband and new father, Jim realized he needed to create generational wealth for his family. His military retirement and TSP savings just would not be enough.
While he learned through his investment as a Limited Partner, he also learned the role of a General Partner and how to give back to the veteran community to demonstrate how they can earn the same rate of returns as high-net-worth individuals. To do this, he teamed up with Jesse DiLillo, Shawn Thomas, and Patrick Voltapetti.