TechcomWiz

Palgongsan, Korea, 1986

I think that one of the under-appreciated aspects of work in the military – at least by those who have never served in it – is the level of responsibility given to many junior officers and NCOs, even in peacetime. By the time I was a First Lieutenant I was building and helping to manage live and simulated air defense exercises that involved the NW one-quarter of the continental US. As a junior captain I had considerably more responsibility – people, programs, budget – than my peers in industry, who made several times my salary. One of the positions I held as a Major was as commander of a mountaintop radar unit in a foreign country, with a multi-million-dollar budget, a staff of over 100 military and civilians, and responsibility for all support activities (food, lodging, transportation) as well as the primary mission. Oh, and some diplomatic work, too, dealing with local communities. In industry, you have to be CEO of a large company to come close to this breadth of responsibilities.

Overview of Military Experience

My U.S. Air Force career spanned more than twenty-one years of active duty, plus six years in the Air National Guard, all of it in Operations, most of it in some aspect of C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance). It encompassed four theaters of operations, five major commands and eight major weapons systems.

Theaters / Commands

Far East (Japan, Korea) / PACAF
Middle East (Saudi Arabia) / USCENTAF
Europe (Italy) / NATO
North America / NORAD/ADC | TAC/ACC

Systems

A.W.A.C.S

USAF Airborne Warning and Control System: Mission Crew Commander (MCC); Instructor MCC; Battle Director (BD); Instructor BD; Department Head, Training Squadron. 1986 – 92.

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K.T.A.C.S.

Korean Tactical Air Control System: Operations Officer, 1978 – 79; Commander. 1985 – 86.

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“Peace Shield”

Royal Saudi C3I (Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence) system: Director of Operations, Elf One, 1984; Airborne Liaison Element Commander, 1988; MCC, multiple short tours. 1986 – 89.

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R.O.C.C.

USAF Regional Operational Control Center: Chief of Training; Combat Crew Commander. 1983 – 85.

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N.A.D.G.E.

NATO Air Defense Ground Environment: Chief, Ground Environment Tactical Evaluation. 1980 – 83.

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T.A.C.S.

USAF Tactical Air Control System: Standardization-Evaluation Officer; Defensive Duty Officer. Air National Guard. 1973 – 78.

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O.A.D.S.

PACAF Okinawan Air Defense Sector: Chief of Plans; Top Secret Control Officer. 1968 – 71.

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S.A.G.E.

USAF Semi-Automatic Ground Environment: Weapons Director; Weapons Assignment Officer; Exercise Director; Computer Programmer. 1965 – 68.

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Systems training and operational courses

Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School: Naval Air Forces Air-Air Warfare Interoperability
The NATO School (SHAPE): Armed Forces Europe Staff Officer’s Course
Air-Ground Operations School (AGOS): Combat Operations Specialist
AGOS: Battle Staff
Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS)
Army Helicopter Training Simulation (Fort Rucker, AL)
Army Air-Land Battle Simulation (Fort Ord, CA)

Academic Courses

Air War College (via correspondence)
Air Command and Staff College, Air University (in-residence)
Tactical Air Command (TAC) Academic Instructor Course
Instructional System Design (ISD)
USAF Computer Programmer Training (S.A.G.E. “Blue Suit” program, which included training with industry)

Honors and Awards

• While commander of a radar unit in Korea: commended by the American military for cost savings, by the Republic of Korea (ROK) air defense chief for “the best operations teams in Korea”, and by the President of the Provincial Social Welfare Council for “outstanding contributions to the welfare of Korean orphans”.
• At Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), Air University, received Special Research Award for research on alternative energy sources judged to be “of significant contribution to the Air Force”.
• Military decorations for individual achievement:
  Meritorious Service Medal (x3); Air Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Air Force Commendation Medal (x2); Air Force Achievement Medal.
• Military awards for unit achievement:
  Joint Meritorious Unit Award; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (x3); Air Force Organizational Excellence Award.
• Military awards for service:
  Combat Readiness Medal (x5); National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Viet Nam Service Medal.

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