Howard Long:
CLASS OF 1969
Merced High SchoolClass of 1969
Merced, CA
Howard's Story
Well, the short story since graduation.....
Went to UC San Diego, and graduated in 1973. Spent 8 years at SeaWorld, collecting and maintaining the Marine Mammal Collection-- yah, I got to ride Killer Whales and dolphins. Got bitten a few times too. While at SeaWorld, took flying lessons, and progressed through a few ratings and became a flight instructor/charter pilot for two years. I applied and was hired as an Air Traffic Controller in 1981, and retired in 2005 after 24 years. I now work for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, as a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) pilot and instructor, and have deployed several times to the middle east and southwest Asia. I'll never consider Merced to be too hot again.....
Married, two k...Expand for more
ids, and two dogs. I haven't spent very much time at home the last few years, but I'm ready, finally, to slow down a little. ..... Fast forward ten years..... This was originally written/posted in 2007, but here it is 2017 and I'm still deploying to the middle east and southwest Asia. It has been a job that I feel is important enough to continue, but age and health are catching up with me. I'll probably retire the end of 2017, and continue teaching flying (for fun instead of as a formal job).
Update 2021. Not one to rush into things, I kept working until March of 2021, and then really did retire, finally. I'm looking forward to getting back into camping, fishing, and kayaking, and being in control of my daily schedule.
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