Our March dinner will be another one you do not want to miss. Our speaker, US Captain George Dom USN (Ret), will provide a fascinating presentation of what it is like to fly Navy jet aircraft in intense training, demonstration and combat situations. He will also be sharing leadership principles that he has learned and used as a leader in the military and after active duty.

George grew up in western Pennsylvania, attended college at Duke University in the Naval ROTC program, and completed graduate education at the National Defense University.

During his 26-year Navy career, George was a leader of various high performance teams, including:

• Instructor Pilot at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (“Topgun”)
• Commanding Officer of a combat F/A-18 squadron on USS Eisenhower
• Commanding Officer and Flight Leader of the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron (“Blue Angels”)
• Commander, Carrier Air Wing Seven aboard USS Eisenhower and USS John F. Kennedy.

Flying combat missions in the skies over Libya, Iraq, and Serbia, his awards include the Legion of Merit (two awards), the Distinguished Flying Cross (with “Combat Valor”), several Air Medals, and other individual and unit awards.

George’s final military assignment was in the Pentagon in Washington, DC coordinating strategic military planning and policy development on the staff of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

After leaving active duty, George’s second career in business aviation included:

• Senior Vice President at Boston JetSearch
• President of NFS Jet Acquisitions
• Aviation Executive for Gilead Sciences
• COO of ACI Jet

A recognized public speaker, George founded High-Trust Leadership LLC to advise leaders of organizations of all sizes on high performance leadership and teamwork. His new book is High-Trust Leadership: Building High Performance Teams.

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For the next few months I’d like to recognize our paid staff for their contributions to the success of our museum. We all know that first impressions of people and businesses are so important. They set the tone for everything that follows related to interest, enjoyment and that overall feeling of being important and welcomed. When people visit our museum one of the first people who visitors see is Paula Hall. Paula is our gift shop manager who really promotes a positive and enjoyable atmosphere when people visit.

As Gift Shop Manager she manages the staffing of volunteers making sure that they set the tone as well for a positive visitor experience. She identifies those sale items that appeal to a broad range of customers and displays them in a very attractive way. Paula can be counted on to cover for Ken when necessary and to help with special events. She is proactive in recognizing volunteers for good performance as well as birthdays and anniversaries. That is a quality that is inherent, not taught.

Paula sets a good example for others by her positive and helpful attitude which adds to an overall enjoyable visitor and co-worker experience. Next time you go to any business or museum and think about just how important that first impression is, know that Paula does her best to make that impression a positive one.

Please join me in recognizing Paula for the great job she does as the Gift Shop Manager.

• John Couch
• 805 440-1663

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Our Newest Restoration Project Has Arrived

Introducing the Type 97 Te-Ke Tankette. This tankette was used by Imperial Japanese Forces in WWII. There were 616 produced and only 10 are left in existence! It mounted a 37mm gun and was powered by a 65 hp 4 cylinder, air cooled, inline diesel engine capable of reaching 26 mph.

This particular tankette was captured by the 640th Tank Destroyer Battalion (part of the CA National Guard) in 1944 in the Philippines. The tank was brought back to Camp San Luis after WWII and has been on display ever since. Time and weather have done their best to break down this tankette. That's where Estrella Warbirds Museum comes into play. We will be cosmetically refurbishing this tankette to its former self and it will be put on display at the 40th Infantry Divisions HQ in Los Alamitos, CA.

Shown above, Left to Right, Dennis Johansen, Rick Cimino, Greg Heydenreich, John Everett, and Steve Foss. Special credit for help to Scott Stelzle for the expert forklift skills and Josh Nowakowski and Andrew Pate of the National Guard for allowing us to do this restoration! Note the size comparison between the Type 97 and F-16B!

You can follow the progress of this restoration here.

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All Three New Aircraft Have Arrived

Three aircraft, formerly on display at the California Air National Guard Museum in San Luis Obispo, have been transferred to Estrella Warbirds Museum, where they will undergo restoration and placed on static display here in Paso Robles. The aircraft include a 1953 Cessna O1-A Birddog, a 1953 De Havilland U-6A Beaver and a 1956 Hiller OH-23 Raven. If you would like to assist in restoration of any of the above aircraft, we would love to meet with you. Extensive experience is not required but a willingness to learn and participate in a mutual project is appreciated. Stop by any Saturday morning and meet our all volunteer restoration crew.

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