Lt Col Patrick talks about his milblog Duty in the Desert and his career.

Flown mostly C-130s during my career at numerous locations, to include a tour as instructor pilot at the C-130 schoolhouse at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, teaching new pilots how to fly the Hercules. Did a stint as Director of Operations, Chief Pilot, and Chief of Stan-Eval at a rapid-response C-130 unit specializing in high-priority, sensitive projects and test flights. Also served as an advance agent for Air Force One directly supporting the President of the United States. Married my best friend and we have 3 children that keep us very busy.

Q & A with Lt Col Patrick

Question: What are 3 things your readers probably do not know about you?

1. I was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program at Oregon State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in History.

2. I was a student pilot assigned to Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, Texas, as part of an Air Force-Navy exchange program, where I earned my Air Force silver wings and learned a new language that included the Navy terms; deck, gouge, head, and topside. It’s all fun and games until the Navy lead aircraft of the formation asks this Air Force pilot to rejoin on his “starboard” side. Whiskey tango foxtrot!

3. I was the lead Pentagon planner at Pt Mugu Naval Air Station, California, for President Reagan’s funeral. At the time of President Reagan’s death, I was an advance agent for Air Force One and was dispatched within a couple hours to Pt Mugu to handle all the on-site coordination between the Navy base, White House, Air Force One crew, and Mrs Reagan’s staff.

Question: How long have you been blogging and why did you get into blogging?

I started blogging on October 9, 2006, while I was deployed to SW Asia in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. My initial reports to family were via e-mails but as the list of friends and relatives continued to grow it became easier to just post my thoughts and pictures on a blog. I went back and added all my previous e-mails from the previous month to my milblog to have a complete record of my deployment.

Question: What is your military experience?

I’ve been on active-duty since 1991. I began my military career as a Command Post Duty Officer while waiting to attend pilot training. I’ve flown mostly C-130s during my career at numerous locations, to include a tour as instructor pilot at the C-130 schoolhouse at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, teaching new pilots how to fly the C-130 Hercules. Did a stint as Director of Operations, Chief Pilot, and Chief of Standardization-Evaluation at a rapid-response C-130 unit specializing in high-priority, sensitive projects and test flights. Also served as an advance agent for Air Force One directly supporting the President of the United States. My job was to be the on-site representative of Air Force One, working with the White House, U.S. Secret Service, and local airport authorities. I’ve also been an executive officer on three occasions, the last time was for a 3-star General Officer.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

I enjoy reading milblogs from the other military services and spouses to learn something new and find out what’s going on in their lives. They give me a different perspective. I make it a point to read Andi’s World, A Soldier’s Perspective, Neptunus Lex, and Blackfive regularly. I would say my favorite deployed blogs right now are Desert Flier and Badgers Forward.

Question: What has been the biggest factor in helping you create and publish a successful blog?

Time and creativity. The biggest factor in my blog is making time in my busy schedule to post on it. I think staying on top of posting is very crucial to success of a blog. The other factor is creativity. I try to post about items that aren’t already discussed on other blogs. No Paris Hilton posts. No political posts. I limit my posts to military topics with a sports theme thrown in every once in awhile.

Question: Do you have anything else you would like us to mention about you, your blog, or your readers?

Yeah, please stop by my milblog and visit. I enjoy reading the comments and learning what other people’s thoughts are on issues–so no lurking!

Lt Col Patrick and President Bush’s dog Barney taken in St. Louis during an Air Force One trip.

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