Lt. Colonel Anthony J (Tony) Asterita, USAF (Ret)
In 1946, when he was a boy of 7, Tony heard a strange loud roaring sound overhead. He looked up and was stunned by a high-speed P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter flying at very low altitude. This developed in him a fascination with airplanes. He began making wood and plastic airplane models, which he hung from the ceiling in his bedroom. With the goal to fly jets, he focused on math and science in high school and enrolled in college level courses in aircraft design technology. At age 18, he applied to the USAF Aviation Cadet program and was accepted for flight training. In October 1959 he completed the cadet program and was commissioned as an Air Force 2nd Lieutenant. He was then assigned to fighter interceptor training in the F-89J. His first operational assignment followed as a Radar Intercept Officer in the then new supersonic F-101B Voodoo century-series fighter interceptor. Over the next 6 years, Tony amassed more than 1,500 flying hours in the Voodoo while serving in the the 49th and 444th Fighter Interceptor Squadrons, during which time he rose to the rank of captain. In 1967 he was appointed to the Air force Institute of Technology and received a BS in Aeronautical Engineering in 1969. He was then promoted to major and sent to Southeast Asia where he flew 170 combat missions collecting signal intelligence in EC-47 aircraft. For his combat experience, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 5 Air Medals. He returned stateside in 1970 to Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio with an assignment to the Aeronautical Systems Division of Air Force Systems Command. There he managed several advanced aeronautical studies such as the application of high-energy lasers on aircraft and advanced flight dynamics. He continued his professional education and completed courses at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and the Defense Acquisition University. His final Air Force assignment was at Headquarters USAF in the Pentagon where he managed the development of advanced autonomous air-launched weapons, and advanced avionics concepts, which were integrated into the USAF inventory. For these successful projects, he received the Air Force Meritorious Achievement Award. While at the Pentagon, he completed studies and received a Masters Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. He retired from the Air Force after 22 years of service and continued in the aerospace industry as a project manager for aeronautical projects. He had oversight responsibility for design studies for very high altitude geo-stationary platforms and contracted with the US Army Missile Defense Agency and the USAF Strategic Defense Initiative Office. Drawing upon his aeronautical expertise, he helped devise an air rotor and hydro rotor which are able to extract power from either air or water flows. A resulting hydrokinetic system can provide clean renewable electrical power to remote villages and help achieve rural global electrification. In parallel with his profession, he assumed duties as Commander of the 49th Fighter Squadron Association. In this capacity, he maintains a fraternal cohesiveness with members who served from World War ll to current operational squadrons.