Photo By Tech. Sgt. John Galvin | Brig. Gen. Harold Reed retires after more than 40 years in the military. His final...... read more read more
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Many small-town farm boys learn the value of a hard day’s work at a young age – a quality that once instilled, is not easily lost and can serve great dividends later on in life.
For a small-town Iowa farm boy, Like Cec Reed, the sayings “that’s not my job,” or “that’s the end of a day’s work,” were not to be uttered as there were no such concepts.
“Nothing irritated me more than to hear someone say, ‘that’s not my job.’ Of course it is. We are a team, we help one another out, and it’s always your job,” said Brig. Gen. Harold “Cec” Reed, who recently retired from the Wyoming Air National Guard after more than 40 years of dedicated military service.
Reed said he has never been one to avoid a hard day’s work. From the time he was a small child growing up on the farm, until he received his acceptance letter from the U.S. Air Force Academy, life has always been about giving 100 percent of his effort toward whatever endeavor or goal he was pursuing.
In 1970, Reed, who retired with more than 9,000 flight hours – 2,000 of those in combat, boarded the plane to head to the academy. It was his first time ever flying. His goal was to become a navigator in the U.S. Air Force and four years later he did just that and headed to his first duty station at Pope Air Force Base, California.
After five years in 1979, Reed left active duty and moved closer to his family who lived in Fort Collins, Colorado, and joined the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing.
Over the next 20-plus years of his career, Reed moved through the ranks and served as 153rd Operations Group commander, 153rd Airlift Wing vice commander, 153rd Airlift Wing commander, Wyoming Air National Guard chief of staff, deputy adjutant general for Wyoming, and assistant to the commander, 18th Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.
He has also been front-and-center at the national level serving as Chairman of the C-130 Operations Group Council, Chairman of the C-130 Weapons System Council and Gen. Craig McKinley’s Air Directorates Field Advisory Council.
Throughout it all, Reed has been a catalyst for sizeable, positive impacts to the C-130 aviation community as his ability to speak his mind and be a true advocate for the best interests of the C-130 community at large have all manifested themselves through his words and deeds, said Maj. Gen. Luke Reiner, Wyoming’s adjutant general.
“Cec has always been a go-getter who wouldn’t take no for an answer when it came to anything that would better the wing or the C-130 community,” Reiner said.
Reed said working for the greater C-130 community was a priority for him. “I made a conscious effort in these positions to not just work Wyoming problems, but to work national-level problems, which would then help Wyoming and all other units as the positive effects would eventually trickle down.”
He reminisced about some of the changes that the Wyoming Air National Guard, during his career, has been a catalyst in testing and implementing.
Among them: writing the first technical order for the C-130H3’s, being the first to hang large aircraft infrared countermeasures, being the first C-130 unit to perform night vision goggle training and implement it into missions in austere environments, and testing new aircraft modifications like an eight-blade propeller.
“This state and this unit are always going to be out-of-the-box thinkers, which is why I love it. Those kinds of things keep me going,” said Reed.
He said his never cease and desist attitude is something he wants future Wyoming airmen to emulate.
“Attitude is everything. When you are offered a position or put in a situation that makes you uncomfortable, take it. My most rewarding experiences came when I was put into situations where I was out of my element,” said Reed when asked about what advice he would give future airmen.
“If you screw up or make a mistake, don’t walk away from it. Own it, learn from it, correct it. People will respect that.”
Reiner said Reed’s legacy in the Wyoming Air National Guard and the C-130 community will live on.
“Without a doubt, he has enhanced the life and career of all Wyoming Air National Guardsmen and all who knew him on the national platform,” he said.
“He was a catalyst for positive change, spoke for the minority, did what was right, voiced his opinions regardless of what others thought and served this nation honorably. The qualities instilled in him as a small-town Iowa farm boy have served the Wyoming Air National Guard well and the footprint Gen. Reed left on the unit will be a lasting one.”
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2014 17:41 |
| Story ID: | 135451 |
| Location: | CHEYENNE, WY, US |
| Web Views: | 460 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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