Brent Bohne:  

Life Since finishing high school, I have had a somewhat interesting life. I attended Bethel College, 1979-1884, graduating with a degree in German/International Relations. After working one year for U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz, I began work at the U.S. Department of State in 1985. Initially, I was a Special Agent with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, serving as Asst. Chief of Security in Embassy Nairobi, then Chief of Security in the Central African Republic. Thereafter I joined the 'regular' diplomatic service as an Administrative Officer, serving in Brazzaville, Congo, Haiti, and Monterrey Mexico before studying Russian at the Foreign Service Institute and working two years in the Nuclear Risk Reduction Center. We then did three years in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (2003-2006), and have just completed three more at the American Embassy Tel Aviv, Israel (2006-2009). The Holy Land was a wonderful experience, but we still pray for peace in that region. My final job with the State Department was with the U.S. Air Force in Germany, as Political Advisor to United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA) at Ramstein Air Base. However, in 2013, a similar position was created at the NATO Allied Air Command, also located on Ramstein AB. Threw my hat into the ring of candidates, got selected, so: I RETIRED!!! (sort of - last day with State was Dec 31, 2013, started new job on Jan 1, 2014 ). We are thus still are living in GERMANY, where I am now the Senior Political Advisor to the Commander (a four-star US Air Force general officer ) of NATO's Air Command. 'AIRCOM' serves as the Headquarters for air, space, and missile defense operations of the NATO Alliance. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, founded in 1949 at the beginning of the Cold War) is an alliance of 26 European nations and 2 in North America (US/CAN) which serves to protect western and central European member nations from external threats (e.g, bad neighbors, like Mr Putin's Russia), as well as maintain peace outside its borders and assist its many partner nations in maintaining stability and dealing with threats which, if not checked, will ultimately affect NATO countries. The US is the largest contributor to the Alliance, which also serves to build a strong and lasting bridge, based on mutual interests and shared democratic values, on both sides of the Atlantic. My job at AIRCOM is to advise on political developments in countries outside, but near or a...Expand for more