Presentation Date: August 26, 2018
Michael H. Houston, Lt Col, USAFR Retired
Mike was born in Reno, Nevada in 1945. His father was a civil engineer; his mother was a homemaker. He had a half brother eleven years older and a sister three years older. After the family moved to Davis, CA in 1955, Mike graduated from Davis Senior High School in 1963.
He attended California State University Sacramento majoring in engineering and psychology, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968, and was immediately accepted into the US Air Force commissioning and aviation programs.
The program included:
- three months of officer training at Lackland AFB, Texas
- ten months of undergraduate navigator training at Mather AFB, CA
- six months of navigator-bombardier training (also at Mather)
- four months of B-52 transitioning training at Castle AFB, CA
- two weeks of combat crew survival training at Fairchild AFB, Washington
Mike’s first operational assignment was to a B-52H crew at K.I. Sawyer AFB in the upper peninsula of Michigan as part of the cold war nuclear deterrent force.
After a little over five years of active duty, some as an Instructor Navigator, during which he flew 60 combat missions over Vietnam, Mike resigned his regular commission and left the Air Force to begin a career in law enforcement. He also joined the US Air Force Reserve as a navigator in C-5 aircraft.
His military awards and decorations include the:
- Meritorious Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
- Air Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
- Air Force Commendation Medal
- Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
- Combat Readiness Medal with silver oak leaf cluster and bronze oak leaf cluster
- National Defense Service Medal with bronze star device
- Vietnam Service Medal
- Air Force Longevity Service Award with four silver oak leaf clusters
- Armed Forces Reserve Medal, with silver hourglass device
- Small Arms Marksmanship award
- Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
- Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Mike’s law enforcement career included:
- One year with the California Department of Justice, Organized Crime & Criminal Intelligence Bureau
- 25 years as a federal agent with mandatory retirement in 2000, upon reaching the age of 55
Concurrent with his career as a federal criminal investigator, as an Air Force Reservist he:
- flew worldwide missions in C-5 strategic transport aircraft from Travis AFB
- was a Squadron Commander of two squadrons
- was a Deputy Group Commander with command responsibility over six squadrons and 1200 reservists located in California, Hawaii, and Guam
- retired as a lieutenant colonel in April, 1996
Subsequent to his careers as a federal agent and an Air Force officer, he had about 19 years as a licensed private investigator specializing in fraud, personal and area protection, and internal investigations. He also has a private pilot’s license with an instrument rating.
Mike continues to keep busy as:
- an American Red Cross instructor
- a disaster emergency response instructor at local communities
- a docent at the Blackhawk Museums in Danville, CA
Mike’s first marriage produced three sons who he is very proud of. In 1997, he married Donna Wade who runs her own housekeeping business. The couple resides in Pleasant Hill.