Watch: STARRS held their 5th online Town Hall on 17 July 2024 hosted by STARRS President & CEO Colonel Ron Scott, PhD (USAF ret, USAFA ’73).
STARRS Chairman of the Board Lt General Rod Bishop (USAF ret, USAFA ’73) gave introductory remarks, talked about STARRS activities, and introduced STARRS new Executive Vice President Lt Colonel Matt Lohmeier (former USAF/USSF, USAFA ’06), who spoke for a bit.
Also, STARRS National Outreach Leader Maj. General Doug Robertson (USA ret) gave an update on Project50 and a pitch to become a volunteer.
General Bishop then introduced the guest speaker, Maj. General Richard Comer (USAF ret, USAFA ’73) who was in Air Force Special Operations. He is also the STARRS Florida State Leader.
General Comer gave a talk about his experiences “starting the Iraq War” on 17 Jan 1991, including the use of new GPS, adjusting to operating/flying in a desert environment, and planning the secret mission with the Army.
In describing how everyone worked together for mission success: “We had nothing to do but trust each other. They all had to be competent in order to succeed; we couldn’t afford a DEI hire.”
General Comer spent 32 years on active duty, 17 of which were in Special Operations. He flew Air Force helicopters, seeing combat in Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, the Balkans, and in Operation Just Cause. He commanded at squadron, group, and wing level in Air Force Special Ops and also had a tour as the deputy commander of JSOC. He was the vice commander of AFSOC for more than two years, which included the initial Afghan campaign after 9/11. He served as the first J5, Director of Policy and Planning, for U.S. NORTHCOM when it was created a year later, and finished his career as the Director of the Coalition Coordination Center at CENTCOM.
His official bio:
https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/104945/major-general-richard-l-comer/
Leave a Comment