EX-PLANT 42 COMMANDER WILL RETIRE CAFIERO TO STEP DOWN AFTER 30-YEAR CAREER.Byline: Daily News Col. Mario Cafiero, one of Air Force Plant 42's most visible commanders, is retiring from the Air Force in August after 30 years of service. As Plant 42 commander from 1988 to 1990, Cafiero sparred with city officials and developers to ward off development under flight paths and convinced the Air Force to rescind a decision to sell off the installation. His career, which began during the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. , included service in five major Air Force commands and a year in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War Persian Gulf War or Gulf War (1990–91) International conflict triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Though justified by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on grounds that Kuwait was historically part of Iraq, the invasion was presumed to be , plus command of units in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , South Korea and Singapore. But he rated commanding Plant 42 his favorite assignment. ``Aside from the location and outstanding community support, being the commander of the Air Force Production Flight Test Installation during such an exciting time in its history made that assignment stand out among so many wonderful Air Force opportunities,'' said Cafiero, who is now stationed in Hawaii. ``Palmdale is the birthplace of so many initial production aircraft, and I was fortunate enough to experience that firsthand particularly with the B-2, the space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. orbiter, and a range of exciting modification and test programs.'' Cafiero was commander of Plant 42 when it began the annual ``Salute to Youth,'' a career education event that drew thousands of high school students. In his final assignment, Cafiero worked at the Headquarters Pacific Air Forces as the command's director of staff, overseeing and coordinating activities of 19 directorates that supported and conducted all Air Force operations in the Pacific. Cafiero is married to the former Lisa Gooliak of Indianapolis and has four children. He will retire to Monument, Colo., where he will pursue private business opportunities and revisit several hobbies and interests. Cafiero graduated from Arizona State University Arizona State University, at Tempe; coeducational; opened 1886 as a normal school, became 1925 Tempe State Teachers College, renamed 1945 Arizona State College at Tempe. Its present name was adopted in 1958. in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau technology. He obtained his commission through Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three commissioning sources for officers in the United States Air Force, the other two being the Air Force Academy and Officer Training School. as a distinguish graduate. He later earned a master's degree in systems management from the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission . Early in his career, Cafiero served as a navigator in military aircraft including the KC-135 tanker in the Strategic Air Command and in the C-137 of the 89th Military Airlift Wing, home of Air Force One. He flew missions for the vice president and Cabinet members of the Reagan administration. |
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