COL Mayew graduated from the University of Miami in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration (BBA). In 1976 he graduated from the Command and General Staff Course in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas with a master’s degree in military arts and sciences (MMAS). In 1989 he attended the National War College.

From 1996 to 2012 he was a Florida State Certified General Contractor until his second retirement when he began to write about his experiences.

In 2020 COL Mayew wrote Dealing with the Decades a book revealing that we all have common traits and have very predictable experiences. Yet, everyone uses the gifts that they receive at birth differently. The book was written as guidance through each decade to deal with life’s challenges successfully.

In 2022 Col Mayew wrote Because War is a Failure. The conflicts in the Middle East have unfolded similarly to the war in Vietnam. Review of the conflicts in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan reveals that they all evolved from insurgencies to stalemates or withdrawals. A lack of appreciation that there were obvious cultural differences and a lack of clear strategies resulted in protracted warfare and loss of valuable resources. The book reveals an analysis that determines why the conflicts ended unfavorably.

In 2023 COL Mayew wrote Optimizing Military Force Effectiveness. The book explains that today we are in a second cold war, which is primarily a conflict among national economies. Inter-state strategic competition pits the US and its post-industrial service, investment, and entertainment based economy against the powers of China and Russia who are still independently able to manufacture products, mine resources and grow food. A successful nation must maintain manufacturing capability, a strong economy, strategic reserves and deterrence through a capable defense system. The book explains how to achieve these critical things to not lose the next war. We need to build and maintain strategic advantage.

In 2024 COL Mayew wrote Dealing with the Decades II recognizing that change is a constant. Education and experience coupled with conscience, virtue and sentience are the roots of wisdom. The book includes more guidance for each decade in the context of the changes in technology. The cell phone, social media, our highly processed food supply, problems in education, increasing stress, high healthcare costs, an increasing population of elderly, drugs and attacks on the institution of the family are addressed with warnings and more guidance.

Also in 2024 COL Mayew wrote The Challenges of Florida’s Rapid Growth. It is basically a warning. Florida is being overwhelmed by rapid growth, skyrocketing housing and insurance costs, a condominium crisis, traffic congestion, a diminished Everglades and extreme pressure to provide clean water and deal with all forms of human waste. Over a thousand people a day are moving to Florida. Storms, aging sewerage systems, carelessness and rapid growth have resulted in threats to the environment, sources of clean water and the health of Floridians. The book contains some thoughts on what Floridians should do about those threats.

In 2025 COL Mayew wrote The Journey of an American Veteran. It is a chronical of his experiences from Marine Private and on to Army Colonel and finally in retirement emphasizing his experiences of service, struggle, loss, achievement and lessons learned. Each chapter of his Journey made him stronger but taught him that advancement is not won by accomplishment during service or combat but by achieving a progression of education, service schools, command at each level and avoiding conflict with senior officers.

In March of 2026 Col Mayew wrote The Climate Maze. The book is designed to provide the truth about the threat of climate change. The fear is disproportionate to the threat. The planet is heating up. We need to monitor the increase in temperature and seek ways to deal with it. The movement to renewable energy sources is not solution, it is harmful. We should be decarbonizing by moving to denser sources of energy like methane, hydrogen and nuclear. Energy creates wealth and three quarters of the world’s population is poor and working to advance. The cleanest countries on the planet are the wealthy ones. The worst environments are in the poorest nations. It is the cost of technological achievement that prevents movement to scale. It is the reason China and India are the top two users of coal and increasing their use of carbon based energy. The United States is working hard to decrease its use of carbon based energy.

Its 2026 and COL Mayew is engaged and writing a book on the challenges of turning 85. He and his wife Ardath now live in Niceville, Florida with his son Steven Aaron and his family nearby. The Mayews also have a second son Curtis Adam Mayew who lives with his family in Indian Harbor Beach, Florida.