David Randall:  

I grew up in Vidalia Louisiana as my family moved to Vidalia from Natchez, Mississippi when I was in the 3rd grade. I have fond memories of Vidalia and the friends I made thoughout those years. Vidalia was a great place to grow-up, make friends, play in the band and be part of a great football program. I graduated in 1965. I attended Northwestern State University for a year trying to find out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life but decided after that year to enlist in the United States Air Force. I served at Altus AFB, Oklahoma and Westover AFB, MA. Viet Nam was at its worst during that time and I spent time in Guam and Okinawa working along with my B-52 unit in direct support of the war. I was discharged from the Air Force in May of 1970. At the end of my tour with the Air Force, I enrolled in college at Northwestern State University to pursue a degree in Psychology. I graduated from NSU with a BS in Psychology in spring of 1972 and began to working on my Master Degree in Psychology. I really loved the Psychology Department and the people I met at NSU but decided that it was time I made a change in my life as my first child was on the way. One day while going through the student union building, a representative for the Air Force happen to be there. I decided to stop and talk to him........the rest is history. I entered the Air Force again but this time as an officer. I was commissioned a 2Lt. in May of 1973 and began training to become a Radar Navigator in a B-52. For the next 11 years, I was a crewmember and instructor for new crewmember coming in to the B-52 weapon system at Castle AFB, CA and accumulated more that 3,000 flying hours. In 1984, I changed jobs and became a squadron commander for a Transportation Squadrons at Minot AFB, ND, and two completely different squadrons (one transportation squadron and an Avionics Maintenance Squadron (Aircraft Maintenance) at Andersen AFB, Guam. I also worked on my Master Degree in Public Administration and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK during 1988 and 1989. My next assignment was to the Pentagon in Washington DC for 4 years. After my assignment at the Pentagon, it was off to Air War College in Montgomery, AL, then to Great Falls, MT to become the D...Expand for more