I am a USAFR Colonel (Retired). I enlisted into Active Duty Air Force in 1971 and reached the rank of MSgt (E-7) before taking a commission in the Air Force Reserve. I was employed as a dual-status Air Reserve Technician (ART) for the majority of my career, and retired in December 2007 after completing over 17 and one-half years of active duty service and over 17 and one-half years of Air Force Reserve service (almost 36 years of uniformed service). I continued to be employed by the Air Force Reserve in an expressly Civil Service capacity beyond my time in uniform and retired from Civil Service in May 2018. Throughout my career I served in Military Personnel, and was assigned duty at every echelon of command (i.e. squadron, base, group, wing, Numbered Air Force, Major Air Command and Headquarters Air Force at the Pentagon). My specialized areas were Military Personnel systems, readiness, and Air Force Reserve participation policy).