Happy Birthday U.S. Air Force

Today the U.S. Air Force will be celebrating its birthday.  It all started 69 years ago when President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, activating the U.S. Air Force and creating a new branch in the military that covers air, space, and cyberspace threats, protecting U.S. citizens against all enemies- foreign and domestic.

In 1974, as a senior in high school, I decided to join the Air Force. This choice turned out to be one of the best decisions in my life. During my 41 years as an Air Force Pararescueman, I deployed 13 times to areas, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait, North Africa and Nicaragua.

During my time in the Air Force, I feel very fortunate to have survived two helicopter crashes during training, as well as hundreds of hard landings during static line equipment jumps.  

After retiring in 2015, I joined Team Wendy as the military market manager. It’s ironic that I now work for this company as I wore one of their ballistic helmets during my last deployment to Iraq. I feel very fortunate to be in a position to put helmets on the heads of America’s ground combatants.

After 41 years in the Air Force I am very grateful to the opportunities they provided and the camaraderie of my fellow service men I met along the way. Team Wendy is now my new family, and just like the Air Force, they are in the business of saving lives- something I have been dedicated to for my entire adult life.
 
CMSGT PARARESCUE (ret) Paul Koester/ USAF