Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired Lt. Col. James Russell 'Rusty' O'Brien, our first guest from the U.S. Air Force.

In the first episode about Rusty's career, we talk about his motivation to fly, his first assignment in the EC-121, and the lessons he learned while participating in the Vietnam War, including Linebacker II.

We also talk about Rusty's transition to the F-4, and his deployment at Osan Air Base in Korea.About Rusty:James Russell 'Rusty' O’Brien grew up in Long Island, New York and attended Uniondale High School then Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. He was selected to F&M Sports Hall of Fame in Football and Lacrosse.

Rusty entered the Air Force with his first operational assignment in the EC-121 with deployments to Iceland and Korat AB Thailand. He flew in Linebacker II, the bombing of Hanoi in Dec. 1972. He transitioned to F-4E and flew air superiority missions at Osan AB Korea and Clark AB in the Philippines, followed by an assignment to the F-111 at RAF Lakenheath, England, serving as chief of squadron weapons and tactics in the 494TFS and flight commander in the 495TFS.

Next, Rusty was a weapons and tactics officer and Chief of the Targeting Cell at USCENTAF, developing new tactics for Southwest Asia while keeping currency in the F-111D and flying other US and allied fighters assigned to CENTAF. He attended Naval Postgraduate School with follow on assignment to US Southern Command in Panama where he was Chief of the Andean Pol- Mil Division and was Director of the Latin American Counterdrug Task Force. Returned to the 48 TFW at Lakenheath (Nov 89) as 492TFS Operations Officer, deployed in the first increment to Desert Shield as Chief of 48TFW Combat Planning where he coordinated F-111 tasking and targeting with the Top Secret "Black Hole" in Riyadh. Rusty was then appointed as commander of 495TFS and flew in Desert Storm.After deactivating the 495th in 1992 he became Deputy Director of Operations at 3rd Air Force and served in Turkey as Director of Allied Operations (J-3) for Operation Provide Comfort and the Northern Iraq No Fly Zone His last assignments were in the Pentagon as Chief of the AF Roles and Missions Group and Chief of Air Force Deep Strike Group, retiring in Feb 1998. After active duty continued to support Air Force, Joint Staff and OSD as VP of a defense contractor and then as Senior Advisor to the Director of Missile Defense Agency.He is currently playing for various Lacrosse teams across the country, is captain of his Fredericksburg, Va team, and runs Lacrosse tournaments in Central Va.Rusty also leads an effort to restore lost F-111 history at the 48 TFW in England. About the hosts:Mitch 'TACO' Parmentier has 16 years of experience with the F/A-18 Super Hornet as a Weapons System Operator (WSO). He has a longstanding love of aviation and history that he brings to the podcast.Beth Bailey was raised by F-14 Radar Intercept Officer Glen 'Wheels' Wheless and grew up around aviators and their unique brand of storytelling for most of her childhood. Beth worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner, and host of The Afghanistan Project Podcast.