Intro: Good evening, General and Mrs. Koziol, General and Mrs. Jouas, General Jones, Mr. Get, Chief Weseloh, Commanders, Chiefs.

Thank you for that kind introduction and warm welcome.  For me, as a retiree, it was especially nice, and you all know about retirees, right?  A retiree is someone who knows everything and has lots of time to tell you about it.  But don’t take my word for it, just go and ask Chief Dowling.  Oh Yea, I have to show you all that even though I’m retired, I’m still willing to serve and sacrifice.  See, I managed to squeeze into my service dress, and here are my original dog tags to prove it.

It’s great to be back home here on Security Hill.  It’s even better to be here at the Super Bowl of Air Force recognitions programs.  Forget the Spurs, Barry Bonds, World Series.  It’s a privilege to be here and toast all the SENSOR OLYMPICS finalists.  Now, I know most of you are probably wondering if I ever won a SENSOR OLYMPICS medal.  The answer is complicated.  I didn’t win one of the Gold, Silver or Bronze medals but I was awarded a one-time-only, unique “Aluminum” medal.  My commander said it was because my test scores proved I had “Aluminum Ears.”  When I asked him what that meant, he said my scores looked like I had my head in a garbage can while I was taking the test.

Chief Maynard came close to winning a medal years ago, back during the early days of SENSOR O.  Unfortunately his hand slipped just as he was chiseling in the last few words and he missed the cut-off.

Of course, I’m not implying by that that Chief Maynard is an old dog, no, I’m not implying, I’m tell you right out loud.

Now, I’m honored at being your guest speaker this evening, and I know what guest speakers are supposed to do.  They’re supposed to stand up front and deliver some formal presentation, to pontificate at will, explaining deep philosophies, the mysteries of the universe, and the meaning of life.  Well, I don’t have any of that stuff bottled up.  Of course, I could stand up for an hour or so and list for you all the latest systems and models in the AF inventory, along with their technical capabilities.  But quite frankly, I’d bore even myself with that.  So instead, I thought I’d just talk to you tonight, sort of like a family fireside chat.

So, I’ll just talk, and what I really want to talk about more than anything else is our outstanding SENSOR OLYMPICS competitors and stars.

They are stars.  These finalists are the stars in our command’s sky.  For 28 years, they have brightened our world and shown the way for others to follow.  This year’s group is no different, so it’s fitting that we’re gathered here this evening to thank them and pay them a little tribute.

Before I get too far down that road, though, we need to say a few words about some other leaders who played crucial roles in bringing this vision to life.  That starts of course with General Doyle Larson, God bless him.  There will never be another Senior Commander like him, willing to take the steps he did to start this program for his people. We’ve been blessed, though, to have a parade of Senior Commanders since General Larson -  Paul Martin, John Marics, Gary O’Shaughnessy, John Casciano, Ken Minihan, Mike Hayden, James Miller, John Baker, Orville Wright, Paul Lebras – right on down to General Koziol.  They all believed in the same vision and shared the same conviction as General Larson; our men and women are the best, first line of defense for this great nation and deserve to be recognized as such.

Of course, we’ve had some tremendous support and fellowship over the years to keep this program alive.  SSFCU, Top 3, First Command, Dak Proctor, the Freedom Through Vigilance Association is the single best friend I’ve seen in any command, anywhere.  The partnership and affection the FTVA has extended over the years cannot be matched under the Sun – the Sun that has never set and still does not set on this command, and as a family and fellowship, we owe the FTVA more than we could ever begin to repay.

Now, I have to say thanks, too, to another special group of people who have done much and given their blood, sweat, and tears over the years to keep this program alive.  That group is my counterparts; the former ESC, AFIC, AIA and now current AF ISR Agency Senior Enlisted Advisors and Command Chiefs. You probably already know this but I’m going to tell you again;  every single one of them has fought to keep this program alive and meaningful for our men and women.  Their challenges have come from different fronts and from different causes, but they each faced them and prevailed.

During my tenure, I faced two major showdowns; one was with the AIA-ACC merger.  I won’t get into all the details of that scenario, but will just say it was a major struggle to keep this program alive.

The second challenge I faced, though, is one I’ve mentioned only to a very select handful of people over the years.  But tonight, I’m going to tell you that story.  I was sitting in my office one afternoon when I got a call from a very senior Air Force leader.  He chatted for a minute then said “The reason I called is I want to talk to you about this SENSOR OLYMPICS program you have.”

He had been approached by some people who had seen SENCOR O and they had nothing but high praise for it.  They convinced this senior leader to get with us and take on the program.  He wanted to take our SENSOR O and basically open it up for the entire Air Force because the “winners get some good bullets for promotion.”

Well, in my typical tactful, diplomatic, and quit manner I explained to this senior leader what I thought of his idea.  First of all, I said, SENSOR OLYMPICS has nothing to do with promotion.  If it gives someone an advantage down the road, so be it, but this program is not about promotions, it’s about performing the tasks the Air Force has asked you to perform to the best of you ability.

Beyond the promotion aspect, I told him that there was simply no way on God’s Green Earth that we were ever going to give up this program to anyone else.  This is our program, it’s a time-honored command program, always has been and hopefully always will be.  No, it’s not about promotion, I told him, it’s about heritage, OUR heritage.

What heritage is that, you may ask?  Let me tell you; for over half a century, our men and women have stood watch, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, they’ve stood alert, on guard, in defense of this nation.  From Pole to Pole and across vast oceans, these patriots stand together, silently.  They are the backbone of our liberty, the foundation of our nation.  They serve at home, in foreign lands, in Expeditionary Forces, and in the most remote corners of the globe.  Their priority in life is not fame or fortune, comfort or money. Oh, no their priority is service to the nation, fellowship with true comrades and defending freedom.  They were and remain willing to go into harm’s way and willing to sacrifice for their cause.

The machines, equipment, and systems they employ may change, from the chisel and stone of Chief Maynard’s day to hardware today that I could not even begin to describe to you.

But the people never change.  Oh, their faces and names may change, but the quality and caliber of our people never change.  Their dedication, loyalty, and commitment to Freedom through Vigilance remain steadfast, seared into their very consciousness and character.  They were unmatched in days gone by, they are unequalled in today’s world, and they will never be surpassed.  And I’m here to tell you that it was these men and women who won the Cold War.

They are young men and women wearing Air Force Blue and they are our heritage, and that heritage is represented here tonight by our SENSOR OLYMPICS finalists.  And our finalists represent the first link of defense for our service and our nation.  The First line …
Not first in public praise … but first in earned honor
Not first in fame or acclaim … but first in dedication
Not first in privilege … but first in responsibility
Not first in comfort … but first in trust
Not first in authority … but first in duty to the flag.

Theirs is an honorable heritage, and we pay tribute to that heritage though SENSOR OLYMPICS.  When General Koziol drapes a medal on these young men and women, he’s doing it not only to recognize these outstanding Silent Warriors we toast tonight – we’re honoring the generations of Silent Warriors from times past who were devoted to Freedom through Vigilance.

That’s why we still carry on a SENSOR OLYMPICS program and why we’d never consent to giving it away.  SENSOR OLYPICS is who we are, and SENSOR OLYMPICS is who we shall always strive to be.  We are SENSOR OLYMPICS.

The bottom line is it’s truly not about promotion or advancement or even recognition, it’s about dog tags … it’s about generations of our silent warriors being the best in the world at what they do so that we don’t have to make a practice of collecting dog tags from fallen heroes.  Doyle Larson understood that our people save lives every day by winning their silent war.  That’s what this program is all about.

Well, I may have pontificated a bit tonight after all, so I think I’ll close this out.

Finalists, we all thank you for what you do for our command, service, and nation.  We thank you for carrying our banner high and proud.  We wish you all the best in the days and years to come.  You’ve earned it.  We count on you to carry the command’s torch forward into the future and prepare the way for those who will follow you … for you are and will be their heritage.

Thank you all for having me here this evening.  Sharing this evening with you, standing at this podium, talking to my family, has been one of the highest and most singular honors in my life.  God bless and love you all.

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