At the moment I am sitting in Brett Hall at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL. I'm the guest of one of the Eagles, my Dad. We're attending the 22nd Gathering of Eagles which is a program of the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) located here at Maxwell AFB.

There are 16 distinguished individuals who are among the Eagles this year: 2 astronauts, 2 balloonists, 2 people who circumnavigated the world -- 1 by plane without refueling and 1 in a balloon without stopping, fighter aces, and folks who did very interesting things with airplanes like the Eagle who was a lead woman pilot of the Women's Auxilary Ferrying Service, who at 83 years of age has more energy than I. My Father was honored for leading the first transatlantic day and night refueling of a flight of F-100 SuperSabre jets from Myrtle Beach, SC non-stop to Insurlik, Turkey in 1958.

There is much to learn from these amazing people. While they are just plain folk, as we say, they have done incredible things.

By the way, Brett Hall is named for my Grandfather, George Howard Brett, who also was in the Army Air Corps.