A Little Bit About Me
Me at a recent NDIA Symposium in Class A Uniform. Lookit that fruit salad...
Me when I graduated from Pilot Training.
Getting ready to go to a Ren Faire, after a few days worth of leave.
Me when I graduated from Pilot Training.
Getting ready to go to a Ren Faire, after a few days worth of leave.
Well, a little bit about me. What can I say? Well, I was born in Uddevalla (a small town in Sweden). I grew up on an island called
Stora Askeron. My mom, my sisters, and I were the only people that lived on the island year round. My dad was in the U. S. Merchant Marines, and was
out to sea during the winter. In December of 1975, we moved to Owl's Head, Maine. I spent the rest of my years growing up there. I graduated from
Rockland District High School as Valedictorian in 1985. I went to college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on an Air Force ROTC scholarship.
I majored in Aeronautical Engineering, and managed tograduate in four years. While at R.P.I., I joined the International Fraternity of Phi Gamma
Delta, also known as FIJI. Some of my best friends ever were in FIJI with me. After graduation from college, one of my fraternity brothers and I
spent a couple of months back packing across Europe. That was a blast!
After I got back, I reported to Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. I lived it up there pretty well. I finally started calming down when I met my wife Brooke, in January of 1990. We were married a couple of years later. In April of 1993, I reported to Laughlin AFB, in Del Rio, Texas, to start pilot training. There I flew the T-37 and T-38. I really enjoyed it. After graduation in May of 1994, I went to survival training at Fairchild AFB, in Spokane, Washington. I was there when that B-52 crashed. It crashed about 200 yards from my dorm. It was pretty scarry. After survival training, I went to Castle AFB, in Merced, California. There I learned to fly the KC-135R. After Castle AFB, I reported to the 384th Air Refueling Squadron at McConnell AFB, in Wichita, Kansas. We bought a house here, I started my business here (I sold swords and gaming materials), and our daughter Megan was born here.I just finished upgrading to Aircraft Commander at Altus AFB, Altus, OK. If you ever have the chance to go to Altus, don't. I look forward to getting mission ready as an AC and going on my first deployment as the man in charge. Now that I've been an Aircraft Commander for a while, I'm getting ready to go back to Altus (yuck!) to become a KC-135R Instructor Pilot. Pretty Cool!
Well, I went to Instructor Pilot school, got all checked out as an instructor in the KC-135R. Shortly after that, I became an instructor in the PACER CRAG modification of the tanker (basically the same airplane, just a whole new avionics package). The PACER CRAG has a lot of cool toys in it, but unfortunately it's not approved to fly in most of the places around the world I would like to go to (something to do with one of the avionics frequencies). As of the beginning of April of '99, I've been deployed in support of the Air Campaign over Kosovo. I'm not particularly thrilled to be here (especially since there is no real end in sight), but I guess I have to suck it up for our national policy (such as it is!).
Well, I finally got home from Allied Force (the war over Kosovo). I am now a Flight Commander, and a receiver qualified instructor pilot. With all the qualifications that I have, I end up flying an awful lot, which doesn't leave much room for my desk job. I am looking at cross flowing into the C-21 (LearJet). That would mean I could spend most of my time home, and fly a fun airplane at the same time. My Major Selection board meets at the end of January, so I hope to get the news that I will be promoted soon. I'm a little tired of Kansas right now, so I hope to make my moves after the promotion board. Wish me luck.
Hey a lot of good things have happened since I last updated. I got a DP (Definitely Promote) on my PRF (Promotion Recommendation Form). This means that my chances for making Major are about 99%! I'm pretty psyched about that. I also got told that I will be going to the C-21! Hooray! I'll be going to Offutt AFB, in Omaha, Nebraska. I guess I'm still in the midwest, but Omaha seems like a much better place than Wichita! I start training on 15 March, and report there on the 30th of April. Can't wait. Things like getting the house ready for sale and getting all my affairs in order are taking up most of my time. I guess I'll keep updating once more things happen.
Well, I am now officially part of Offutt AFB. I love flying the C-21! I pinned on Major on Halloween (that was pretty cool). I have been the Acting Director of Operations for the past four months. When the new guy finally arrives, I'll be the Assistant Director of Operations, so hopefully I'll be able to fly a bit more and get away from the desk!
Well, that's about it for now. Check out the other pages I have to learn even more about me and my life.
Now I have upgraded to instructor pilot in the C-21. Looks like I got my wish, because I am flying a whole lot more! Only bad thing about that is that I don't have time for a lot of the other projects I am supposed to do at work, like write OPRs, make the MOP, or a bunch of those other acronyms. I guess I can't have my cake and eat it too.
I haven't updated this page in about 4 years, so I guess there is a lot of updating to do... Since the last update, I have done a PCS, had a couple of jobs, and even have orders for my next assignment. After Offutt, I went to Eglin AFB in the panhandle of Florida. We got really lucky with the housing market here, and got a great place to live, pool and all. At work I started off as the Integrated Product Team Lead for Subscale Aerial Targets. Basically as a staff officer, I transitioned all the current subscale drones (things the fighter guys get to shoot real missiles at for practice) to depot maintenance, and I brought the new BQM-167A into the Air Force inventory. While involved with the drones, I also started in on weaponizing Unmanned Aerial Systems. That is my full time job now.
Currently I am also detailed to do a bunch of other jobs on this base. All in all, I am a bit bitter about my Air Force career though. It seems that the Air Foce didn't think I was worth keeping around, so I got passed over for promotion. And what makes this such a kick in the nutts is that the Air Force will force me out at the 20 year point. That's not so bad, except that the Air Force is also going to make me pay back about $50,000 that they originally paid me to stay longer. Yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's in the fine print somewhere about promotions and such. I also have orders for a one year remote to Osan AB, Korea. The only good thing about this is that I have a guaranteed follow on to Eglin, so I can retire here (I mean get kicked out here). Although, with as bitter as I am, I may just say "Screw it!" and move to New Zealand. I'll let folks know as my retirement comes closer though.
Okay, I did my 1 year prison sentence at Osan AB. I served as the Chief of AOC training (as well as 7 AF Training). I was also Deputy A-3, 7 AF Defense Readiness Reporting System Program Managed, AOG AEF Reporting Tool Manager, etc. Yeah, they really load you up here in Korea. As one humerous sign I saw said, "Osan AB. It's like the motherfucking world cup of drinking!" I can see why. You work your ass off, get crapped on constantly, and then have nothing but an ulcer to show for it. I learned a lot of course, and did my best. Just seems that it's all for nothing though as I am going back to Eglin, and there I will get forced to retire in a couple years. I suppose we'll see where it goes from here.
(Thanks for reading.)
384 ARS Home Page - What one of my old "real" jobs was all about. This page is to be considered out of date effective March 2000, however, I am keeping it alive due to the nice pictures and the memory of Randy Patterson.