I was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant through the Air Force ROTC program at Texas Tech University and entered Undergraduate Pilot Training at Reese AFB, Texas in 1971. My first assignment was as a Forward Air Controller flying the OV-10 Bronco in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. I returned to Reese AFB in 1973 as a T-38 instructor and received an F-15 assignment to Holloman AFB, New Mexico in 1978. I was extremely fortunate to be able to fly the Eagle for eleven years; four years at Holloman AFB, four years at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, and three years at Luke AFB, Arizona. Those assignments encompassed flying with six different squadrons and included over 2200 hours of flying time, nine Red Flags, countless other exercises and deployments, an ocean crossing to Lahr AB, Germany, and many hours studying and refining tactics in air superiority.