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  • Air Force chaplains, Birmingham Southern graduates meet up at Fort Dix

    In early April I was browsing the Birmingham Southern (Ala.) Alumni Network on the Internet checking to see if there was an alumni group near me in New Jersey. There's a north New Jersey group, but it's too far away. I was thinking how nice it would be to have an alumni group of military members

  • Saluting those 'Above All' Airmen

    As I was standing on stage in the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center's Grace Peterson Hall before 90 of the toughest Airmen you'll ever meet, I had the realization dawn on me that these Airmen were soon heading off to war. It's not an unusual thing to think about at the USAF EC, because it's fairly

  • Combat skills training creates stronger Airmen

    I returned April 18 from two weeks of training that I may never use - two weeks of crawling through mud, running with 40 pounds of body armor strapped to my shoulders and head and eating field rations. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. The training I attended was the Air Force's Advanced

  • Service: Ask yourself what it means to you

    Imagine asking a military veteran from your hometown, "What does service mean to you?" Chances are you'll get an earful in return. In the Air Force, we have the core value of service before self. However, before anyone thinks this is a lecture on core values -- hold on. There's a lot more to

  • It's time for a new chapter in my life

    Okay, now I finally have to talk about it. For the past 16 years, my career and life have paralleled that of a professional football player, and that player's name is Brett Favre. No, I've never played college or professional football but with his retirement announcement from the National Football

  • Waiting is well worth the effort

    It was after 5 p.m. and I was on my way home from a range on Fort Dix when I just realized I forgot to call home. The realization came when I heard a song on the radio in my old Ford Bronco where the refrain was, "Sweetheart, I'll wait for you ..." I imagined, as the song was playing, my wife at

  • Remember the long line of heroes before us this Memorial Day

    From the Revolutionary War to Operation Iraqi Freedom, there has been a long line of heroes who set forth an effort to protect the liberties that have made our country what it is today. And every Memorial Day, I salute them. You may ask yourself, "What defines a hero?" Truth is there are many forms.

  • Be a proud Airman - it's more than a name

    I know this old Marine who's been retired for years, but I still call him a Marine. It's simply out of respect. He and I joke quite often about the differences in services and who did or does what better. But every time we greet each other, it's, "How are you Marine?" He replies, "What's new

  • Life's lessons lead to appreciation of family, friends

    Life has a funny way of teaching you its various lessons. For me, from events that took place in July, I learned a great deal about the importance of my family and what they mean to me and my military career. My life lessons began in late June during a lunch break from working during the Eagle Flag

  • Hometown patriotism and Patriot Day

    The rain clouds and the darkness were slowly closing in on the color guard as they were leading the July 4th parade in Bessemer, Mich. From where I stood with my two daughters, you could see people standing up and taking off hats as the color guard approached. It took a bit longer before the color