Veterans Day Employee Spotlight
This weekend we take a moment to express our gratitude and appreciation for those who have served and continue to serve. Thank you for your courage and service!
We have multiple Veteran employees who work here at =PR=. Today we are spotlighting Todd, a longtime member of our Reston staff. Todd has worked part-time at =PR= since 2007, for 16 years! Learn all about Todd's time in the military and how he got started running!
Todd's Story:
I’m from a family of pilot/veterans. My father was an Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker pilot during the Vietnam War, and is a retired 747 Captain for United Airlines. My brother was a C-130 Hercules cargo pilot in the Air Force Reserve, and he’s currently an A320 Captain for JetBlue Airways.
I got my start by attending the U.S. Air Force Academy, graduating in 1986. Upon graduation, I attended pilot training at Williams Air Force Base near Phoenix, AZ where I trained in the T-37 & T-38. After completion, I was assigned to fly the C-5 Galaxy cargo plane at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. As a C-5 pilot, I flew military cargo and humanitarian missions all over the world during peacetime, and also flew missions in the Persian Gulf War.
One of my most memorable trips was when the crew that I was a member of was alerted in the middle the night to fly from Northern California to a base in Utah, pick up some cargo and personnel, fly to a base in Panama, drop off the cargo and personnel, and then fly again to a base in Florida. It was only after we woke up after a well deserved sleep that we saw on the news that we had taken part in the 1989 invasion of Panama that ousted the dictator Manuel Noriega.
Although I was an athlete growing up, playing football, basketball and baseball through high school, and running a few 10K’s & 12K’s in my 20’s & 30’s, I really didn’t get into distance running until my 40’s when I was introduced to the Reston Runners by a good friend. From there I went on to run 12 marathons and 3 JFK 50’s. Unfortunately, due to an arthritic hip, I’ve had stop running, but I still stay active by walking and practicing yoga.
When I’m not working at =PR=, I’m a 767 Captain for United Airlines flying from Dulles International Airport to places like London, Amsterdam, Zürich, Geneva and Rome, and I have the pleasure of flying with many other veterans. We are all honored to have served our country in both peacetime and war.