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Show 7 Mi? GPoirs by Kathleen Keane Air Force News Service Guest appearances on nationally televised programs. Radio talk show interviews. Invitations to appear at prominent parades in major cities. Autograph and photo sessions. For a movie star or high government official, this could be a way of life. But for an Thunderbolt II pilot, who only recently returned from flying combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, this type of attention was an unsolicited novelty t0 J,0!011' j' ? Sr Tactical Fighter a?,?1? the 354th Wing, Myr- tie Beach AFB, S.C., earned celebrity status when he was presented the Air Force Cross, the Afr Force's highest A-1- i 0 award. kartJ ing," he said. "Five active duty Air Force Cross recipients were present at the awards ceremony. Included were and s over guys who flew North Vietnam and Hanoi. There was also a chief master sergeant who was a pararescueman during the Maya- F-10- 5s guez incident in 1975. Quite simply it's intimidating to see some of these people. lt3 so a bit much when I think of the mission in terms of how many people were involved, and I was the one singled out he said "Although x C00rdinated much of the plan, my wingman, Capt. Randy Goff, was ex- posed to enemy fire as much as I was." whisked away for an appearance on another nationally televised program, The Faith Daniels Show. He participated in the victory pa- rades in Washing- ton, D.C., and 4 i i A v XJ : : A xx u i t ,The hekC0P.ter accompanying themas deep into enemy territo- 1 r i . te said. was sucn a team eort tnat it's hard for me to stand UP say 'Yes, 1 received this Air Force Cross, and I Johnson received the cross for en- search and rescue during a nine-hou- r of a downed Navy Tomcat pilot inside Iraq, which included four mid- - deserve it.'" air refuelings and the sudden onset of Believing one could be so unpreten- an Iraqi truck, threatening the tious about his distinguished honor mission. and sudden hero status might be But these efforts appear pale when difficult. However, considering his per- compared to the regimen of his celebri- - sonal values, it's relatively easy, Johnson, the youngest of four chil- ty status. In one morning alone he gave a live dren, was born in northern Alabama. radio interview, When he was 10, rushed to the set C his family moved of Live with Reto Dresden, Tenn. he gis and Kathie Although with Lee, and then was played toy F-1- v . . if1: F-4- 66 It was such a team effort that it's hard for me to stand up and say, 'Yes, I received this Air Force Cross and I deserve it.' 99 soldiers as a child, he did not grow up wanting to be an Air Force pilot. In fact, he considered going into the ministry, following in the steps of his father, one of his two greatest inspirations. New York City, where he rode in a Capt. Paul T. Johnson car with Brooke Thunderbolt li pilot "My father faced a great deal Shields. He's also : of adversity with given many autohealth problems, including cancer in graphs and posed for photos. But the fanfare is beginning to taper 1965, and residual effects of the off. That suits him just fine. chemotherapy in 1980," Johnson said. "In spite of his problems, he was "It was neat and interesting, but for someone not used to that kind of at- never deterred from his No. 1 priori- tention, it becomes a bit much," the ty, raising his family in a Christian captain said. "It's kind of over- home, or his work. If I can do half as well as he did, I will have done all whelming." Being selected to receive the Air right." The captain's other inspiration is his Force Cross also overwhelmed mother, who went back to school while Johnson. "The significance of it hit home he was in high school. She earned her when I saw the company I'm keep- - degree and became a registered nurse, 0 ' v. A : 1 .i- - , v. .. ,. U.S. Air Force Photo Air Force hero Capt. Paul T. Johnson is the recipient of the Air Force's highest honorthe Air Force Cross for a rescue mission of a fellow pilot during Desert Storm. he said. Following my father's death, she went into medical mission work." After high school, Johnson attended College in Tennesand see, graduated with a degree in agriculture from Murray State University in Kentucky. It wasn't until he was over 25 that the captain considered the Air Force as a way of life. "A retired Air Force pilot I knew encouraged me to give flying a shot," he said. "It was through that person's encouragement that I applied, was accepted and have succeeded in what I Freed-Hardema- n do." Like his father, Johnson is devoted to his family. He and his wife, Patricia, have two sons, Christopher, 9, and Eric, 5, and a baby daughter, Jessica. He is also active in his church. In addition to occasional preaching, he regularly teaches Bible school. Surprisingly, it was not during the daring rescue mission that he had thoughts of never seeing his family again. "That's not to say we weren't appre- hensive or nervous about what we were doing, but once we made contact with the downed pilot on the radio, we no longer thought about our safety. He became our concern; he was much more vulnerable than we were." However, about two weeks after the rescue, Johnson was flying another mission and his aircraft received a direct hit. "That's when I thought about my family," he said. "After it was hit, the airplane rolled onto its back and would not roll upright. For about 10 or 12 seconds, I thought I was going to have to bail out, and all of those thoughts that flash through your mind in a microsecond, flashed through mine." Fortunately the airplane did recover and he landed it safely. With his war experiences behind him, Johnson is settling back to a lifestyle that balances his family and his job as a weapons and tactics officer and instructor pilot. Reflecting on the war, the captain expressed concern for all Air Force families. "Experiences over there mellowed a lot of people. We were gung ho to do our jobs, waiting for the war to start. But once it did, we were eager to get it over with. While there was pressure and strain on us, there was a tremendous amount on our families. And we didn't want to put them through that any longer than we had to." Satellite connects classrooms across distances Air AFB, Ohio-T- he of School Force Institute of Technology's Systems three-wee- k a transmitted and Logistics recently specialty course through the Distance Education Program. was "Acquisition Management," or SYS 200, Han-scceach at students 30 to transmitted via satellite AFB, Mass., and Hill AFB in July. This initial experiment in satellite training resulted from legislation encouraging government workers in the acquisition field to receive special training in the Air Force Acquisition Professional Development Program. According to course director Prof. Bob Bergseth, "An estimated backlog of 6,000 to 12,000 Air Force WRIGHT-PATTERSO- N m and Department of Defense personnel need this course." The numbers are large due in part to the new Acquisition Professional Development Program. This program is directed toward the Air Force Profes- Once the course began, students could use the microphones to identify themselves, ask questions and interact with AFIT, and students at Hill. tification. Distance education provides a cost effective program for AFIT to serve military people around the cellent." sional Acquisition Corps and requires that SYS 200, and other acquisition courses, be completed for cer- world. At the education office at Hanscom, televisions and microphones were provided. Three graduates of the AFIT Acquisition Professional Development Program Course, certified as facilitators, monitored class exercises. "Quality was and still is a critical concern," said Dr. G. Ronald Christopher, director of instructional media. "We want quality transmissions first and the results from this 'test' transmission have been exSMSgt. Richard Jacques, chief of formal training and professional development at Hanscom, said it appears distance learning will equal the education with the additional benefit of received eliminating travel and promoting cost effectiveness. (Courtesy Air Force Logistics Command News Service) |