I had daily contact with Colonel Olds as NCOIC of 8th TFW Wing Safety. Every morning we had a staff/operations meeting called "Stand-UP", which was held in the briefing room across the hall from his office. (Our safety office was on down the hall to the left) Each morning, we would review the previous day's missions, including selected film from the aircraft cameras. "Discussions" would follow and Colonel Olds, when necessary, would give "advice and guidance" which was sometimes very verbose.
Then, depending on the day of the week, I might have to get up and give a safety report. You can imagine how it was to give a safety briefing in the midst of a war. But, to tell the truth, we lost many more aircraft to accidents than in combat. In the book, he mentions almost as a side note the term "Star Talks". Well, after each accidental aircraft lost we would complete the investigation, give the report to Colonel Olds and he would have to go to 7/13 Headquarters and brief the generals, the (stars). He hated that. But, it was part of the job.
He treated the enlisted troops well. He left us NCO's live off base, in town. He treated me well, gave me a good performance review, which helped me be a "Chief" with only 16 years in the USAF.
I took this photo of him and Chappie James drinking champagne on the flightline. It illustrates some of the challenges a safety guy has in war when they were putting their lives on the line on a daily basis.
John
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