Unexpected compliments

 I think the most unexpected compliment I ever received was from a pilot who had left our unit a few years before.

We had flown a lot together while he was here, and deployed together in 2010, though we were on different crews. Once we got back, he packed up his family and moved to Little Rock, where he was hired as a full-time Guard Technician, teaching in the C-130 Schoolhouse.

In 2015 I deployed as the Squadron Commander for our 4 month deployment to Kuwait and Qatar. With the move from one country to another, it was a pretty busy 120 days. One day, a few weeks after we returned stateside, Austin Schlech sent me a quick note, totally out of the blue, saying he had heard from several different people what a good deployment it was. Completely unexpected, and I was very appreciative for the kind words.

After being around the flying game for so long, I always wanted to try my hand at being the MFWIC, and I thought I could do a good job at it. You don’t take it on trying to be popular, but you hope when it’s all said and done, people understand you did your very best to take care of them, and make their jobs easier. Austin’s note was validation that I was at least in the right ballpark.

Another came unexpectedly from a former Squadron Commander from my B-52 days.

He was a great example of true leadership, and I’m glad he remembered my efforts.

Getting presented an MVP award for running the Mass Casualty Exercise, “Exercise Lycoming Reach” for the National Disaster Medical System, July, 2014.