Friends Annual Board Meeting and Luncheon 2023
The Friends Annual Board Meeting and Luncheon was held at the USAFA Falcon Club on May 19, 2023. Our guest speaker was Colonel Matt Dietz, Head of the History Department at the United States Air Force Academy where he specialized in Military History, Policy, and Strategy. His doctoral dissertation, recently published as a book, Eagles Overhead: The History of U.S. Air Force Airborne Forward Air Controllers, from the Meuse-Argonne to Mosul, is a critical history of U.S. Airborne Forward Air Controllers and examines their role in U.S. military conflicts from World War I to Operation Inherent Resolve. Colonel Dietz has logged more than 2,500 flight hours, including 325 combat hours, in five different aircraft and deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Inherent Resolve.
A graduate of Texas A & M University, he received his M.A. in History from Sam Houston State University, M.A. in Military Operational Arts and Science from Air University, and Ph.D. in Military History, Policy, and Strategy from the University of North Texas.
Colonel Dietz has attended the Clements Center’s Summer Seminar in Statecraft and History and has presented papers and lectures on U.S. military strategy and operations. He was also a 2019 Friends-sponsored Clark-Yudin Fellow and conducted research for his PhD dissertation in the Clark Special Collections.
