Lieutenant Colonel Mike Caudle retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2008 after almost 21 years of active duty. He was an ROTC Distinguished Graduate at Texas Tech University in 1987. He earned his wings (class 88-08) at Laughlin AFB, TX and then flew the F-111F “Aardvark” and F-15E “Strike Eagle” at RAF Lakenheath, U.K. from 1989-1995. He flew 32 combat missions in the F-111F during Operation DESERT STORM and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross on 19 January 1991. He deployed to Incirlik AB, Turkey seven times from 1991-95 to fly missions in Operation PROVIDE COMFORT. From 1995-1998, he served as an F-15E Instructor Pilot (IP) and academic instructor at Seymour Johnson AFB, NC. From 1998-2001, he was a T-38 IP and Chief of Functional Check Flight in the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) program at Sheppard AFB, TX. In 2001, he returned to Seymour Johnson and participated in Operation NOBLE EAGLE (Homeland Defense) missions before deploying to Qatar in January 2003 where he flew 25 combat missions in the opening phase of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, earning a second Distinguished Flying Cross on 1 April 2003. He next served as the J3 (Director of Operations) for the Iceland Defense Force before returning to Seymour Johnson to serve in the Standardization and Evaluation division. In 2006 he moved to Nellis AFB, NV where he was the Director of Operations and ultimately the Deputy Commander of the 414th Combat Training Squadron (or RED FLAG, the world’s premier aerial combat training exercise). He flew approximately 3,130 hours, including over 425 combat hours.