Col. Howard H Oakley selected aviation as his specialty in 1957 when he went Regular Army from the Reserves. His wings took him up and down the eastern portion of the US and to Korea, Germany, Viet Nam, and Turkey. He appreciated seeing the world from the perspective of the clouds. His career provided him with the opportunity to work in a fast-moving environment, to collaborate with other branches of service (primarily the Navy), to instruct other pilots, to problem solve, and always to enjoy the camaraderie of the other pilots and crew.

He flew both fixed wing (O-1, U-1, U-6, U-8, C-45, T-41 & T-42) and rotary wing (OH-13, OH-23, UH-19, UH-34 & UH-1 (Huey)). He did some test flying of aircraft being overhauled from Viet Nam and other areas in the mid-sixties?€”always bringing along the lead mechanic to ensure the highest level of quality control! He flew challenging missions in wartime. In one instance he participated in a team to get vital communications equipment code settings to a destroyer off the coast of Viet Nam. Flying the HUEY to the destroyer was not a problem?€”matching the chopper's altitude to the changing pitch of the destroyer was another issue all together. But, working that out greatly decreased the time of getting vital information into the right hands.

Col. Oakley served in the US Army from 1955 to his retirement in 1985. He received his Master Army Aviator Badge in 1972 and terminated flight status in 1975. His career highlights follow:
?€? 1955-1957: US Army Southeastern Signal School, Fort (Camp) Gordon, GA.
?€? 1957-59: Flight School and 50th Signal Battalion, Fort Bragg, NC, fixed wing pilot. 1958 Rotary Wing Course.
?€? 1960: Signal Longlines Battalion, Korea, fixed & rotary wing pilot.
?€? 1961: Advanced Course, Fort Monmouth, NJ.
?€? 1961: Signal Depot, Decatur, IL, fixed wing aviator.
?€? 1962-1964: Fort Worth Signal Depot, Fort Worth, TX, with duty station ARADMAC, Corpus Christi, TX, avionics test pilot.
?€? 1964-1966: USAREUR, Signal Dir, Heidelberg, Germany, Avionics and GCA Monitor.
?€? 1966-1967: ADSO 1st Cav Division, Viet Nam, rotary wing aviator.
?€? 1968: Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS.
?€? 1968-1970: US Army Signal School, Fort Monmouth, NJ.
?€? 1971-1973: US Army CONARC (TRADOC), Schools Directorate, Ft Monroe, VA.
?€? 1974-1976: Headquarters DA, Pentagon, general staff/communications.
?€? 1976-1979: HQ Land Southeast, Izmir, Turkey, NATO C&E.
?€? 1979-1985: HQ TRADOC, Fort Monroe, VA, C&E Officer.