Garry,
hailing from the southern part of Houston - one of the 37 classmates
that joined us in the Summer of 1964 from the Great State of Texas.
Spending his first two years in 23rd Squadron before moving to 8th Squadron
for the next two years.
While not always achieving academic excellence, Garry did realize his
goals as a lettering member of the USAFA Gymnastics team for four years
and had a few visits to the Commandants list.
After graduation, Garry and Tina were married on July 14th in the Catholic
Chapel at the Academy, then on to Pilot
Training at Randolph AFB, TX then to Mather AFB, CA where Garry was
a T-29 pilot in the Navigator Training Wing. Garry & Tina had their
first child, Debbie, while at Mather AFB. Garrys next assignment
was to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taiwan as a C-130E aircraft commander
with the 50th Tactical Airlift Squadron, spending most of his time deployed
to various bases in South Viet Nam and Thailand. While in SEA, Garry
was awarded two DFCs and two Air Medals. Upon returning to CONUS in
1973 to Langley AFB, VA, Garry joined the rated supplement as the Operations
Officer for the 4500th Security Police Squadron at Langley AFB and served
as a T-39 Instructor Pilot as well. They had their second child while
here a boy (Mark). From 1976 to 1980, Garry
was an Instructor Pilot in the T-38A aircraft back in his home state
at Laughlin AFB. Following his instructor pilot tour, Garry was back
in the transport business as a C-5A aircraft commander/instructor pilot
in the 22nd Military Airlift Squadron at Travis AFB CA. While at TAFB,
Garry served in various additional duties to include wing life support
officer followed by chief instructor pilot, chief pilot and then Deputy
Director of Safety, 22 Air Force. Following Travis, Garry, Tina, Debbie
and Mark went to Clark Air Base in the Philippines where Garry was the
Commander of the 3rd Law Enforcement Squadron followed by two years
as Deputy Group Commander of the 3rd Security Police Group.
Retiring from
Clark AB as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1990, and following a brief stay
in Dallas, TX, Garry and family relocated to Kokomo, IN where Garry
started his new career with Delco Electronics. The next 22 years were
spent in project management with the last 12 years as the President
and CEO of Pocket PM, LLC; a company which he co-founded in 2002 in
Denver, CO. In 2004, Garry and Tina relocated to their current home
in Colorado Springs. Garry is a former president of the Association
of Graduates Class Advisory Senate (AOG CAS) where he volunteered for
10 years.In 2018, Garry was elected
to the Association of Graduates Board of Directors (AOG BOD). He is
a guest lecturer with the Department of Management (USAFA/DFM).
Garry and Tina (his wife of 53 years!) have sponsored 35 cadets since
arriving in Colorado Springs. In 2018, Garry was recognized by the Colorado
State House of Representatives with a standing tribute by all representatives.
Garry was presented with a certificate signed by the Speaker of the
House. The last line reads, The Colorado House of Representatives
expresses its deepest gratitude to Lt. Col. Garry Dudley for his defense
of our liberties in his lifetime of service. Garry was recently
selected as the 2020 recipient of the USAF Academy's Distinguished Service
Award (DSA).
Each year, the USAFA DSA is presented by the Superintendent to a military
person, civilian, or group, whose contributions have had a distinct
impact on the morale or well-being of the Air Force Academy. The
award was presented by the Superintendent, Lieutenant General Richard
M. Clark on July 9, 2021. Click here
for the video of Garry's commenting about the award.
Click
on thumbnails for larger images and information.
Garry and Tina -
Thank-you for all you've done for our Academy!