Air Force Commander James Muscatell Jr. also will address high school seniors.
John Cutlip – Assistant Editor
STRUTHERS – The city will have a very special guest on Veterans Day, Thursday, Nov. 11.
Air Force Brig. Gen. James J. Muscatell Jr. arrived in town this week from the Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, where he commands the single reserve flying unit in the state and the nation’s only aerial weather reconnaissance squadron.
A Struthers native, Muscatell has been a commissioned officer since he graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1979. He was more than happy when he learned he had been called home.
“I was very honored and humbled to be invited home to speak,” Muscatell said, “especially since I only go back to visit my parents and family and have not physically lived [in Struthers] since grade school.”
Muscatell will be speaking at the Veterans Day ceremony at the memorial outside Struthers High School, 111 Euclid Ave., on Thursday before talking to high school seniors on Friday, Nov. 12.
A learning experience
Even with over 30 years in the military, Muscatell hopes he can still take some new experiences back to the base after his trip is over.
“It is not so much what they can learn from me, but what I can learn from them,” he said. “On Veterans Day I will be honored to celebrate a day with many who have gone before me. Our freedom and privileges we experience are because of those who gave so much for this great nation.”
As for the students, Muscatell holds today’s youth in high regard.
“I look forward to spending time with the future of our country,” he said.
“Their generation is the most technologically advanced generation we have ever encountered. They literally have a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips and they do things differently than my generation.
“I want to talk to them about the importance of finding something you love to do and doing it. I want to encourage them to find a mentor to help them become life savvy and to realize that they need to be proactive and take control of their life.”
The brigadier general was invited by former Army quartermaster and retired Pfc. Gene Yuhas – a Struthers resident and active supporter of all military veterans.
“It’s amazing to have someone of that caliber and rank come to Struthers,” Yuhas said. “There’s no other way to explain it.”
As chairman of the Veterans Memorial Committee, Yuhas drew up the plans for the high school memorial six years ago and saw it through its construction.
“They love to give,” Yuhas said of those who helped get the memorial together. “This is my whole heart in it.”
Yuhas was able to contact Muscatell through the general’s father, James Muscatell Sr. – also an armed forces veteran who reached the rank of master sergeant before retiring and who communicates frequently with his son by e-mail.
Muscatell Sr., who lives in Struthers said his son is a “good role model” and will talk to the high school students at 9 a.m. Friday about “looking up to someone.”
What does it take to be a general?
James Muscatell Jr. achieved the rank of brigadier general in the Air Force in April 2009, becoming one of only a few in the nation. Here are some of his accolades and accomplishments over his 30-plus years of service.
Education
• 1979 Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities, USAFA, Colorado Springs, Colo.
• 1983 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 1997 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 2000 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 2007 Master of Arts degree in Ministry Leadership, Crown College, St. Bonafacius, Minn.
• 2008 Joint Forces Reserve Orientation Course, Joint Forces War College, Norfolk, Va.
Assignments
1. August 1979 – August 1980, undergraduate pilot training, (unit), Reese AFB, Texas
2. December 1980 – May 1986, C-141 pilot, scheduler, safety officer and simulator examiner, 62nd Military Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, Wash.
3. May 1986 – August 1998, C-141 squadron standardization and evaluation, chief pilot, chief of current operations, operations support flight commander, operations officer, Deputy Commander, 446th Operations Group, 446th Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, Wash.
4. August 1998 – February 2001, C-17 operations officer, Deputy Commander, 315th Operations Group, 315th Airlift Wing, Charleston AFB, S.C.
5. February 2001 – September 2003, Commander, 514th Operations Group, 514th Air Mobility Wing, McGuire AFB, N.J.
6. September 2003 – April 2006, Commander, 934th Airlift Wing, Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport Air Reserve Station, Minn.
7. April 2006 – January 2009, Commander, 302nd Airlift Wing, Peterson AFB, Colo.
8. January 2009 – Present, Commander, 403rd Wing, Keesler AFB, Miss.
Flight Information
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 7,100
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38, C-141, C-130, C-17 and KC-10
Major Awards and Decorations
• Legion of Merit
• Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
• Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
• Army Commendation Medal
• Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device and five oak leaf clusters
• Combat Readiness Medal with two devices
• Air Force Good Conduct Medal
• National Defense Service Medal with two devices
• Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
• Southwest Asia Service Medal with two devices
• Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
• Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
• Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold border
• Air Force Longevity Service Medal with five devices
• Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” device and oak leaf cluster
• Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
• Air Force Training Ribbon
• Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
• Kuwait Liberation Medal (Government of Kuwait)
“I am just a servant and I look forward to doing whatever our country asks of me. I have never tried to do the “right things” to make rank, I’ve simply tried to be a good airman and never go back on my values or integrity. The ranks I have reached were accomplished by those I have been blessed to work with. I wear the rank in their honor because it is their rank, not mine, and I owe it to them to wear it with pride. I believe the foundation my parents laid for me has a lot to do with my success, ability to work with people and being that servant leader.”
– James. J. Muscatell Jr.
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