Richard Buntin:
CLASS OF 1985
Yale High SchoolClass of 1985
Yale, OK
Richard's Story
Life
I married Janna (Sneed '86) in May 88. I joined the AF in Nov 88. Since, we've lived in IL, FL, WA, OK, Washington, DC, MD, and are going to move back up to Spokane, WA summer of 05. We have 3 kids, Brett ('90), Leslie ('93), and Matthew ('00). We live in Medical Lake, WA, just outside of Spokane. We have a nice house, and the kids enjoy school. I recently bought Brett a 67 Mustang coupe to go with my 67 mustang fastback, and he really enjoys that. As a family, we recently went on a cruise together, with about 50 other mustangs. We started in north Spokane, took some winding mountain roads, and ended up in a small town about 20 miles away. It was a blast. We're going to do a lot more of that next summer. I just retired from the Air Force. Leslie and I are on our way back to OK in Oct, and Janna, Brett, and Matthew will follow in June of 2009, after Brett graduates from high school.
School
Mr. Dvoraks class was a trip, and so was Mr. Colson's computer class. Other than that, the thing I miss most would have to be football. I'd do it all over again just to get back on the field again.
College
I attended OSEwe fall '86 to spring '87. Kind of difficult being a lifelong Sooner fan.
Workplace
Immediately after high school, I went and worked for my uncle in cushing building fiberglass speedboats. When that fell through, I did odd house reconstruction jobs for some guy in Yale. Then I went to work at a printing company in Stillwater. I also pumped gas, worked as an admin at H&R Block, and then worked for my stepdad in Stillwater as an autobody paint and repairman. Then, I finally joined the military, where I've been an aircraft electrical and environmental systems technician, as well as a financial analyst.
Military
Basic training in San Antonio from Nov 88 to Jan 89. Went to aircraft electrical systems school in Chanute AFB, Rantoul, IL from Jan 89 to Jun 89. First duty station was Eglin AFB, Ft Walton Beach, FL. I worked on F-15 aircraft there from Jun 89 to Mar 94. While there, I went on trips to Holland, Las Vegas, and Saudi Arabia. Then I went to Osan AB, Korea from Apr 94 to Mar 95. While there, I worked on F-16 aircraft. Upon finally leaving there, we went to Fairchild AFB, Spokane, WA. While there, I worked on KC-135 aircraft, basically flying gas stations. While there, I went on trips to Saudi Arabia (again), Seattle, Panama (one of my favorite trips), and Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean (my other favorite trip. (While in Panama, I was soaking up the sun and 80 degree weather while Janna was in Spokane shoveling snow!). After about 3 years, I thought I wanted a desk job, so retrained from the flightline into a budget job (financial management). We went to OKC summer of 98. I was assigned to Tinker AFB. I worked fo...Expand for more
r two different units there. We were living in Moore, and that famous May 3 tornado missed our house by 1 mile. After my 2nd year, I was forced to interview for a job with the White House Communications Agency in Washington DC. This was actually my 2nd interview with them. My first, I wanted to go, and they said I didn't have enough experience. The 2nd, I told them there was no way I was going to DC, and they told me tough, I was selected. After being on hold for a year, we came to DC in June 01. Within 2 weeks, I was on my first trip traveling in direct support of the President. We went up to Maine, where he was visiting his dad. Sep 11 came and went, and after the plane struck the Pentagon I stood on the bank of the Potomoc River watching across as the smoke rose. Kind of left a sick, helpless feeling. Anyway, I've been in charge of over $300 million at one time, and developed tracking devices for over $700 million over a 9 year period. I've also traveled on about 23 trips in support of the President. I've been to ME, NH, OH, OK, FL(Adams Mark hotel on the beach at Daytona Beach one week before the Daytona 500), CO, OR, CA, MI, MS, GA, WV (Greenbrier Hotel for a Repbulican getaway), and I've also spent 2 weeks at 5 star hotels in both Rome Italy and Paris France. I've been to the White House about 2 dozen times, even had lunch on the White House grounds. Our first Easter here, our kids got to do the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn. We went this past Christmas for the Christmas tour of the White House. And we get Christmas Cards from the President and First Lady every year, which is kind of cool. I've even been authorized to give White House tours. Most of my relatives really like that part, those that have been out and I've gotten in. I've been on several trips where I've been on the tarmac when Air Force One lands, and I was the first person to touch the plane when it lands, as I had to plug communication lines into it. And yes, believe it or not, for this assignment, I usually am in a suit and tie. I know that's probably a shocker to most of you. Anyway, this assignment sounds good, but it's time to go. It seems that there are about 10 billion cars on the roads every day to and from work, and I'm ready to go.
Now we've been at Fairchild AFB, WA, just outside Spokane for the past 2 years. I've been to Iraq for a 4 month rotation, in which I managed a quarterly budget of 7 million dollars, and also personally managed over 4million in cash, and believe it or not, without a loss of funds. Now, I'm a quality assurance manager, first sergeant, and about 5 other additional duties to go with it.
I just retired from the Air Force, so it's back to OK, but who knows for what. I'd like to get back into automotive restoration, but we'll see.
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