George Whittington:  

Graduated High School June 1966. Entered U.S. Air Force (USAF) July 1966 and retired May 1996. Spent USAF career as an aircrew member flying transport aircraft with a break as a First Sergeant. Had various assignments in U.S. and overseas: - McChord AFB, WA. (Flew C-141A Starlifters). - Naha AB, Okinawa (included Tan Son Nhut AB, Cam Rahn Bay and DaNang Vietnam; and Ubon RTAFB, Thailand). Flew to numerous landing zones in Vietnam and flew forward air control/flare missions over Ho Chi Minh Trail (Laos and Cambodia). (Flew C-130A Hercules) - Norton AFB, CA. (Flew C-141A Starlifters; upgraded to Instructor Loadmaster) - Ching Chuan Kang AB Taiwan (included Tan Son Nhut AB, Cam Ranh Bay and DaNang Vietnam; UTapao, Nakhon Phanom, Korat and Udorn, Thailand). Flew from Tan Son Nhut AB to Hanoi transporting North Vietnamese military personnel supporting the peacekeeping negotiations. (Flew C-130E Hercules as Instructor Loadmaster and worked Squadron Scheduling and Operations). - Dyess AFB, TX. (Flew C-130E Hercules as Instructor Loadmaster; worked in the Wing Consolidated Training Flight) - Norton AFB, CA. (Got out of Regular Air Force and joined the Reserves as a full-time technician [civil service]; C-141A Instructor Loadmaster and NCOIC of Aerial Port Flight rigging airdrop platforms and packing parachutes for airdrop training). - Kulis ANG Base, AK. (Transferred to Alaska Air National Guard as C-130E Hercules Instructor Loadmaster [civil service]; Alaska would be my self-proclaimed home for life). - Selfrige ANG Base, MI. (Transferred back to Air Force Reserves [civil service] Was on the advance Air Force Rescue team deployed to Guyana to retrieve the victims of Jim Jones Kool Aid suicide/murder. (Flew as HC-130H/P/N Hercules Rescue Loadmaster Instructor and Flight Examiner) - McClellan AFB, CA. Re-enlisted in Regular Air Force. (Flew as HC-130H/P/N Hercules Rescue Instructor Loadmaster). - Elmendorf AFB, AK. After reserve rank of Master Sergeant (E-7) was reinstated, was first on list for Alaska and received orders. Flew C-130E/H Hercules as Loadmaster and Superintended the Combat Mobility Branch (Airdrop and mobility) for 4 years. Worked as Group Tactics Loadmaster for 4 years. - Little Rock AFB, AR. Flew as C-130H Hercules Loadmaster. Superintended the 314th Airlift Control Squadron (MAC ALCE) and deployed to numerous locations deploying and redeploying Army and Air Force units to/from the Middle East during Desert Storm. - Norton AFB, CA. Took a break from flying and spent a couple of years as a First Sergeant. Deployed to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. - Scott AFB, IL. After getting promoted to Chief Master Sergeant (E-9), without any First Sergeant vacancies for a Chief, went back to my Loadmaster career field as Chief of Mobile Command, Control and Communications (MAC ALCE/AMC TALCE) at Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, IL. Flew as C-141C Starlifter Loadmaster. Headquarters jobs are quite boring. As you will see, I have gypsy blood. The wanderlust in me can't let me sit still very long. Guess the Air Force did it to me with all the assignments I had in 30-years. Initially accepted employment in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as an Aircrew Instructor in their C-130 program. After 13 month I returned to the U.S. and decided to drive trucks for awhile. Definitely a gypsies life. An old friend from my Reserve time at Norton called me one day and asked for help so I quit driving and went to work at March AFB for a while helping him and the base out. Then it was back to the Middle East. After seven years working in the Middle East and Southwest Asia as a contractor for the Department of Defense (Muscat, Oman, Dubai UAE, Bagram, Afghanistan with numerous visits to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain), I returned to the U.S. (4 July 2006) accepting a position as Project Manager for the U.S. Air Force Contract Air Terminal at Eielson AFB, Fairbanks, Alaska. I lived in the little town of North Pole within walking distance to Santa Claus House. Fairbanks wasn't too far away in the event I needed to go to town for shopping or entertainment. In April 2008, I transferred with my company (Trailboss Enterprises, Inc.) to Anchorage, AK and assumed the position of Programs Manager (Quality, Safety & Training) and then Operations Manager. I also split my time dabbling in business development and marketing. I started flying again after returning to Anchorage. I taught flying at my old flying alma mater Aero Tech Flight Service, Inc., Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska. I stopped flying after the company owner died and his family closed the business. Helping the family close the business, I was the last paid employee with Aero Tech. After numerous medical conditions attributed to getting old, I am no longer able to maintain my medical certificate so flying is a passion of the past; something to reminisce about. My life in Alaska was a 180 degree turn from my life in the Middle East. I completed two years of independent transportation consultant work (Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Muscat, Oman) in the Middle East and a five year contract with DynCorp as the Transportation Superintendent for the USAF component of Central Command (CENTAF) War Reserve Material (WRM) Prepositioning Program in Muscat, Oman. I was with the program since '98 (WRM Program with Airwork Vinnell 1998-2000). Got to travel extensively throughout the Middle East and loved it. I have to say a few things about Muscat and Dubai. Muscat and the country of Oman is one of the best places I have ever lived. I enjoyed the geography and people of Oman. I got to visit several historical sites (Jobs Tomb and the ruins of the Queen of Sheba's empire on the Gulf of Arabia). Although a Muslim country, it is extremely conservative and the Sultan allows freedom of religion to be practiced in Oman. I have ma...Expand for more