Photo By Sgt. 1st Class April Davis | Oregon Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Jeffrey M. Silver speaks to a crowd gathered to...... read more read more
SALEM, Ore. - Reflecting back on a wide-ranging, 33-year military career, Oregon Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Jeffrey M. “Hi-Ho” Silver said, “It was fun the whole way through, and I’m especially grateful I got to experience so many challenges along the way.”
The former Air Component Commander for the Oregon National Guard officially retired during a ceremony held in his honor, Feb. 10, 2018, at the Anderson Readiness Center in Salem, Ore. As he spoke to colleagues, family, and others in attendance, Silver described how the excitement of flying fighter jets provided a pathway to many unforeseen transformations in his storied career.
“The thrill of flying and just a sense of speed is where it all began and I loved every minute of my 28-years flying fighters,” as he recalled his love of flying. “As my career evolved, it was especially gratifying working with senior leaders, and mentoring others while watching them grow within this organization.”
After graduating from Oregon State University in 1984, Silver entered the Oregon Air National Guard, eventually attended undergraduate navigator training at Mather Air Force Base (AFB), California. Upon finishing his initial rounds of aviation training, he was assigned as a Weapons System Officer (WSO) with the 142nd Fighter Interceptor Group (FIG). As a WSO (pronounced “wizzo”) flying in the back seat of the F-4 Phantom II, Silver began working at the Portland Air National Guard Base, a place he was literally born at in 1961.
“My dad, who was on active duty with the Air Force, was recovering from an aircraft crash in Japan - spent two years in military hospitals stateside recuperating. While recovering here in Portland, I was born at the hospital on the (then active duty base) Portland Air Force Base,” said Silver.
As part of a group of young officers, Silver recalled how many of the more seasoned pilots shared their vast knowledge from flying the F-4’s in Vietnam.
“There was a core group of us that started with the F-4, before later transitioning to the F-15 Eagles, and had long careers here, like (ret. Lt. Col.) Bud Jones, (ret. Brig. Gen.) Steven Gregg and Maj. Gen. Michael Stencel (current Oregon Adjutant General),” Silver said to the attendees.
A unifying moment for this group came in 1988 at the William-Tell Weapons System Meet at Tyndall AFB, Florida. The 142nd FIG Team of 12 Airmen that entered the completion that year was primarily made up of young lieutenants, as they took aim at the rest of the Air Force for top honors.
“Our leadership got together and said, “Hey this is the last hurrah for F-4; instead of sending our most experienced guys, let’s train and send our 1st and 2nd lieutenants to compete,” Silver remembered. “It was almost like a social experiment, we trained under the tutelage of our most experienced pilots for nearly a year prior to the meet, studying the profiles and absorbing as much as we could for our first - and last - chance in this airframe.”
The 142nd team was seeking back-to-back honors at the William Tell Meet, having sent a veteran squad, led by the duo of Capt. Larry Kemp and Maj. Tom Tutt to the 1986 event where they won the overall event.
The long hours of training for the 1988 team paid off in similar overall distinctions for the young guys too, as 1st Lieutenants, Dave McKinney and Gary Thompson took the ‘Top Gun’ honors.
“We competed toe-to-toe against these stacked teams who flew F-18’s and F-15’s,” said Silver. “In the end, it really underlined that theory that the man was more important than the machine.”
In less than two years, the 142nd FIG was transitioning from the Phantom II to the Eagle and Silver was ready to move from the WSO position to the pilot seat. As he was finishing his upgrade training in 1990, the 142nd began to make the conversion to the Eagle fighters.
Though the F-4 was still a very lethal and capable aircraft, it was no longer a frontline fighter.
“Going to the F-15 Eagle with the advance armaments, a helmet mounted Q-ing System, which shoots an AIM-9X that can gimbal itself off over 100 degrees, was such a fantastic upgrade,” said Silver.
It was also during this time there was a cultural shift taking place in the Air National Guard, said Silver.
“The culture of the Oregon Air Guard changed from the traditional Guardsman of a ‘weekend-a-month’ as a strategic reservist, to our current day operational force, going shoulder-to-shoulder with the active duty force.”
The total force concept was taking shape in the U.S. military as a whole, as the shadow of the post-Vietnam era gave way to this more interrelated vision within the U.S. Air Force.
“When you grow up with an organization in a synergistic way, it perpetuates and grows a culture of excellence,” said Silver. “This happens when our senior leaders mentor our younger folks in a tradition of always trying to improve the function of the organization.”
With each new leadership assignment within the 142nd, Silver soon found a new challenge in 2011 as the wing commander of the 173rd Fighter Wing, Kingsley Field, in Klamath Falls, Ore. In early 2013, Silver deployed to Afghanistan, returning in August 2013 and assuming the duties as the Assistant Adjutant General, pinning on his brigadier general star in the process.
“We are incredibly fortunate that we have two of the best Air National Guard units in the nation within our own state borders,” Silver exuberantly proclaimed. “Though the missions are much different, with the 142nd Aerospace Control Alert and the 173rd pilot training missions, both wings are in the hunt for a Fifth Generation fighter.”
This long-range potential was acknowledged by 173rd Fighter Wing Commander Col. Jeff Smith, during Silver’s formal retirement ceremony.
“The future is bright in a large part because of what you (Brig. Gen. Silver) have done over the past 10 years and the work of getting our airspace expanded with the Oregon Air Space Initiative.”
Smith emphasized that space now is almost as big as the Nellis AFB ranges, calling the expanded airspace for daily training operations for both wings “a national treasure.”
As the presiding officer for the ceremony, Maj. Gen. Michael Stencel highlighted his long professional and personal relationship with Silver over their three-decade association. Stencel described, through a variety of stories, Silver’s unique, light-hearted attitude toward his military service, yet always remaining the ultimate professional.
“When Jeff and I attended AMS (The Academy of Military Science) together, he completed the course as the distinguished graduate - a clear testament to his intellect, athletic ability and (jokingly) attentiveness,” said Stencel.
Yet pausing from the laughter, Stencel reaffirmed to everyone in attendance, in a more solemn reminder, “If you ever needed him, in the dead of night - he would be there - a true friend for anybody and always completely committed to the mission.”
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2018 20:45 |
| Story ID: | 266083 |
| Location: | SALEM, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 728 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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