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Retirement Ceremony Set for Angelo State ROTC Commander

May 12, 2011

Angelo State University will host a retirement ceremony for Col. Michael K. Buck, commander of the university’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 847, on Friday, May 27, in the Houston Harte University Center, 1910 Rosemont Drive.

The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. in the University Center’s C.J. Davidson Conference Center and is open free to the public. It will be hosted by Col. Peter C. Hunt, commander of Air Force ROTC Southwest Region. Dress for the occasion should be “uniform of the day” for military personnel and business casual for civilians.

RSVPs to the event are not required, but are preferred. Anyone planning on attending the ceremony is asked to RSVP by Friday, May 20, to Capt. Brad Roehrig, ASU assistant professor of aerospace studies. He can be reached at 325-942-2036 or brad.roehrig@angelo.edu.

As commander of ROTC Detachment 847, Buck is the senior Air Force officer on the ASU campus with dual responsibilities as detachment commander and head of the Aerospace Studies Department. Under his leadership, Detachment 847 was named the 2010 High Flight winner as the top medium detachment in the Southwest Region, earned high praise for its December 2010 headquarters’ inspection and earned top Arnold Air Society squadron honors in 2011. Buck has been at ASU since June of 2007.

A graduate of the Air Force Academy, Buck joined the Air Force in 1981. His career includes operational tours in F-111 and A-10 fighter aircraft, including deployment to Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Southern Watch. He culminated his operational career flying the A-10 while serving as commander of the 51st Operations Support Squadron at Osan Air Base, Korea. He also served several tours at the Pentagon, working for the Headquarters Air Force, Secretary of Defense Office, Joint Staff Manpower and Personnel, and most recently as executive assistant to the director of the Joint Staff prior to his assignment to ASU.

Rated as a command pilot, Buck has more than 2,800 flight hours in the A-10 and F-111 aircraft. His commendations include a Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Aerial Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Defense Superior Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster and the Air Force Commendation Medal.