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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Ms. Wendy Humbertson

Capt Robert L Humbertson USAF (Ret) has served his country for 23 years in the Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller. Bob was a part of Operation Desert Storm and received the Bronze Star. Since retiring from the Air Force, he has had an impact on the aviation community by being put on numerous Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) projects and simulations.
Starting his aviation career with the United States Air Force in the 1970's he initially encountered his future direction in aviation by working on a C13 0 aircraft. He was introduced to another aviation avenue in the career field of air traffic control. After the initial training, he provided air traffic control services at Seymour Johnson AFB, NC.
He then attended the Air Force Air Traffic Control Officer Training Program where he merged the technical "sequence and separation" skills of the air traffic controller with the management and leadership responsibilities of an Air Traffic Control Officer.
Several assignments followed in the career field. One of particular note was that of a liaison officer at Decimomannu AB, Sardinia. In this capacity, he provided the war-fighters an opportunity to practice their skills on specific ranges.
He retired from the Air Force in the eighties. He easily transitioned to another aviation opportunity working in support of the United States Air Force Special Operations. In this capacity he used experience in order to support the tip of the spear. He established and coordinated special air space needed by SOF. He coordinated with Air Route Control Centers, the Federal Aviation Administration and foreign agencies in order to provide SOF access to airspace needed to complete their training and execute their missions.
After that he turned to the "infra-structure" side of the National Airspace System (NAS). In this capacity he assisted the FAA in establishing the national baseline, the Architecture. Critical to the successful delivery of the service, a safe and efficient aerospace system, this architecture allows for the systemic advancement of incremental delivery of services and capabilities by the FAA in the provision of communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) services.
He was directly involved with the incremental implementation of passive surveillance capabilities, for example Automatic Dependent Surveillance -Broadcast (ADS-B). Other areas where Bob made a direct contribution in the advancement of aviation are communications systems, flight planning automation and air traffic control applications.