Pillars pave the road to his success

  • Published
  • By U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. John Nimmo, Sr.
  • 140th Wing Public Affairs
Amid ominous clouds, thunder and lightening on the outskirts of Buckley Air Force Base, Col. Michael A Loh, 140th Operations Group (OG) Commander, completed his final F-16 Fighting Falcon flight before being promoted to Brig. Gen.

Presiding over the promotion ceremony was Maj Gen. H. Michael Edwards, the adjutant general for Colorado.

Hired on as a fighter pilot in 1991 during Buckely's conversion from the A-7 Corsair to F-16 Fighting Falcon, Edwards testified to Loh's standard of excellence and outstanding performance that he has come to know and value over their 19 years of serving together.

"He's always had the vision and the foresight coming off of active duty to understand the relative relationship between the Air National Guard and active duty, and he's always provided great advice as we integrate and look to the future," said Edwards

After the formal pinning of his new rank and receipt of his new one star flag, Loh took the podium and thanked his family, friends and fellow service members for their support.

Loh spoke about family and friends, civilian employers and fellow members of the military he knows as the three pillars of support that a Guard member receives.

"Through it all you can rely on your family and friends to be there and to be supportive when you try to balance the needs of the military with the needs of the family and the needs of the civilian employer. Through all the deployments, the weekends and holidays away and missed family events, they are still the ones that make it happen for our nations all volunteer force. Without our family's love and support our nation would truly suffer," Loh said.

"The second pillar is our civilian employers. Their sacrifices are awe-inspiring," Loh said. "They are the non-uniform patriots of America," he added.

"The third pillar is of course our military and for me that has been the Colorado Air National Guard," Loh said. "Just as our former members laid the foundation, we must lay a foundation for our own future. Your leaders don't accomplish anything without a great support team," he continued.

"The three pillars are necessary for our country's defense and empower us who are currently in the military to serve and we need to take care of all three," Loh said. "Come to work every day with an attitude of what can I do for this country and what can I do for the Air Force today, and then go out and do it," Loh implored the audience as he closed.

Loh is the 140th Operations Group Commander of the 140th Wing, Colorado Air National Guard, Buckley Air Force base, Colorado. Following his promotion Loh will be relocating to Washington D. C. to serve as the Air National Guard special assistant to the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force.