In 1964 Rossey E. Gibson, Jr. joined the United States Air Force. Joining as Enlisted Personnel, Reggie, as he was known, set off for basic training in San Antonio, Texas. This young man from Lynchburg, Virginia joined the Air Force to see the world, as many young men do. Stationed in London, England at South Ruislip Air Force Base, Reggie soon mastered the postal route through London to the base and back. His route and timing was so efficient, London traffic police would set their watch by his passing by. Many pieces of important mail and documents passed through his hands, including a special delivery which included the blueprints to the now world famous Concorde.
During his time in England Reggie enjoyed seeing the sights he had once studied in school as a child. He also visited Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium while driving Air Force personnel abroad. He met Maria, who would soon become his wife, at her family's business in Ruislip Manor where he and an Air Force buddy stopped for the best ice cream in town. With the company of fellow Airmen, he and Maria would visit the Douglas House in London enjoying music and comedy acts on weekends off.
After leaving the Air Force in July 1967 as an E4 - Airman First Class, Reggie returned to Lynchburg and studied to be an Air Traffic Controller. Passing the test, he and his wife moved to Northern Virginia and Reggie was assigned to the Washington Center in Leesburg, Virginia. As part of tradition, Reggie was given a nickname by fellow controllers; The Rose.
As an Air Traffic Controller at the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center, Reggie and his fellow controllers were responsible for the separation of airplane routes and managing the sectors for the period between departure and arrival for the Washington-Baltimore area, the Philadelphia area, and the New York Metropolitan area. With 46 air sectors, the controllers handled low, intermediate, high, and super high altitude routes; the center was always intensely busy.
Both at the Washington Center and at the national Air Traffic Controller training center in Oklahoma City, Reggie was instrumental in instructing and mentoring the next generation of controllers. By the time of Reggie's retirement in 2003, the Washington Center was handling over four million flights a year. After 35 years of service as an Air Traffic Controller, Reggie now enjoys plane spotting and visiting aircraft and space museums with his two grandsons.