AF colonel marks 40 years Published Dec. 17, 2008 By Master Sgt. Stephen Gabel Air Mobility Command headquarters Air Traffic Control Training chief SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Time really flies when you're having fun. Col. Bill Malec, Air Mobility Command headquarters Airspace and Airfield Operations Division chief, was surprised with a reality check at an impromptu 40th anniversary celebration recently. The colonel initially enlisted in the Air Force and reported for basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, Dec. 10, 1968. He followed his older brother into the Air Force and planned to stay for just one four-year enlistment. Evidently plans changed and he separated as a technical sergeant in September of 1980 to pursue a commission as an Air Force officer. As New York Yankee Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it," and he did. He was subsequently commissioned in 1982 as a distinguished graduate through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Detachment 155, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla. The rest is history. He has pretty much made the rounds, having served in various base level and staff positions in Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command, Air Training Command, Air Force Communications Command, U. S. Air Force - Southern Command, Pacific Air Forces, U. S. Air Forces Europe, Air Combat Command, Air Force Materiel Command, and Air Education and Training Command. He also did staff tours at the Air Force Flight Standards Agency and Air Force Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battlelab. "I know this sounds pretty ridiculous, but 40 years kind of sneaks up on you," said Colonel Malec. "One minute you're on your hands and knees scrubbing floors in an old wooden barrack at Lackland and the next you're AMC's Crisis Action Team director coordinating air operations during Hurricane Ike." "It's been a great-great ride and I hope I've still got a little airspeed left," he added with a smile.