Col. McMillen holds Certificate of Appreciation presented to Col. Tarris and Col. Tarris holds MOAA Challenge Coin, presented by Col. McMillen.
Former Lt. William Myers, CEC, USN
The Catalina Mountain Chapter (CMC) of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) held its recent meeting on Oct. 18 at SaddleBrooke Ranch. The meeting began with a business session presided over by CMC’s President, retired Col. Kurt McMillen, U.S. Army, during which members were updated on the chapter’s current activities.
Our speaker was retired Col. Timothy G. Tarris, U.S. Air Force, who is a 1973 graduate of Capital University, Columbus, Ohio. Receiving his commission through the Air Force ROTC program, Col. Tarris attended Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) at the former Williams Air Force Base, Chandler, Ariz.
He was then assigned to Cannon Air Force Base, Clovis, N.M., to pilot General Dynamics F-111D supersonic Aardvark fighter-bombers. During his long Air Force career, Col. Tarris was also a flight instructor for the Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. As Director of Operations for the Arizona Air National Guard, he flew the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Following 30 years of active duty and National Guard service, Tim retired in 2003.
Tim’s commercial flying career began with United Parcel Service in 1981 flying Boeing B-727s, followed by instructing pilots to fly Douglas DC-8 and Boeing B-747 aircraft. He retired as a commercial captain with over 18,500 hours in 2009.
Tim discussed his planned 2024 35-day around-the-world flight with friend Canon Bleeker in his Cessna 210 Centurion. The flight was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Army Air Service’s first circumnavigation of the globe, accomplished over the course of several months in 1924. The planned flight was abandoned after suffering numerous setbacks while in South America.
The next CMC luncheon meeting will be held on Saturday, Nov. 15, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The location for the meeting is the Private Dining Room of the SaddleBrooke Ranch clubhouse, 31143 South Amenity Drive, Oracle, Ariz.
Our speaker will be CMC member retired Col. Phil Osterli, U.S. Army, who graduated from the University of California, Davis, in 1963 and was commissioned a second lieutenant through the ROTC program. His active-duty service began on Jan. 1, 1966, following attending graduate school. After flight school, Phil was assigned to the 335th Assault Helicopter Company in the Republic of Vietnam.
Phil’s presentation will focus on the year he spent in the Republic of Vietnam—how he got there, what his year entailed, and what happened afterward.
If you are a former or present officer of the uniformed services interested in joining our organization, please contact Membership Chair, retired Lt. Col. Donald Timian, U.S. Army, by email at dontimian@hotmail.com or by telephone at 571-216-3679.
The membership of CMC encompasses the areas of Catalina, Oracle, parts of Marana and Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, San Manuel, Sun City, and parts of Superstition Mountains. For additional information, please visit our website at catalinamountainsmoaa.org.
The CMC and MOAA are nonprofit, IRS Section 501(c)(19) tax-exempt veterans’ organizations dedicated to maintaining a strong national defense and preserving the earned entitlements of members of the uniformed services and their families.