My love of flying began with a $5.00 orientation flight with my Dad over Indianapolis when I was five years old. I was hooked. Thirteen years later, 1967, I was enrolled in Air Force ROTC at Purdue University. I graduated Feb 1972 and was commissioned a 2nd Lt in the Air Force, on my way to undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin AFB, Del Rio, TX with my bride, Susan, married on Apr 1st, 1972.  One year later I earned my wings and we were off to Castle AFB, Atwater, CA for training as a KC-135 co-pilot. After four months of training on the aircraft, survival training at Fairchild AFB, WA, and water survival at Homestead AFB, FL, my wife and I were finally assigned to the 913th AREFS, 2nd BMW, Barksdale AFB, LA. The next six years there I was transferred to the 71st AREFS, moved up in rank to Captain and became an aircraft commander as well as  instructor/evaluator pilot on the KC-135. During these years I had temporary duty with the Young Tiger Tanker Task Force in Southeast Asia, as well as many other Tanker Task Force locations around the world. 1980 was a permanent change of station to the Combat Crew Training School, 93rd AREFS, 93rd BMW, Strategic Air Command, Castle AFB, CA. There, I trained and evaluated pilots and copilots on the KC-135. While there, my TDY duty continued to many locations in Europe. My career advanced with a promotion to Major and completion of my Masters degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univeristy. The Air Force decided my next duty station would be O'Hare Air Reserve Forces Facility, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL. I was now the Senior Air Force Advisor to the 126th Air Refueling Wing, Illinois Air National Guard. My duties were to advise and evaluate the wing as they conducted their role in the SAC mission. The Guard did so many support mission's around the world and I was privileged to accompany them from Iceland to Senegal Africa. My greatest honor was when they asked me to command a KC-135 crew for Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I was privileged to fly the first mission for the 1701st Provisional Wing the first night of the war. Our Wing came home to Chicago with great fanfare and honors, something all the VietNam Vets, which we had many in our wing, should have had. Within a year my twenty years in the Air Force were coming to a close. I retired from active duty 1 Jun 1992, the same day SAC was retired. I'll never forget the retirement parade the 126th AREFW gave me. It was a great send off and the beginning of my next career with American Airlines. But that's another story, my wife, Susan, can tell that one.