Instructor retires with 53 years of service Published Jan. 28, 2009 By Susan Griggs 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISS. -- Howard Knotts, an airfield systems instructor in the 338th Training Squadron's special training and technologies flight, retires Tuesday with more than 53 years of federal service. He assumed his current position almost 27 years ago, after 27 years of active duty in the Air Force. A native of West Virginia, Mr. Knotts joined the Air Force in 1952. He spent 11 years in the aircraft maintenance field and the remainder in communications/engineering stateside and overseas assignments including Keesler, Chanute Air Force Base, Ill.; Shaw AFB, S.C.; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Geiger Field, Wash.; Williams AFB, Ariz.; Pope AFB, N.C.; Robins AFB, Ga. His final military assignment was maintenance superintendent at Karamasel, Turkey. He also served two special duty assignments as adviser to the Moroccan Air Force at Kenitra, Morocco, and to the Vietnamese Air Force at Danang AFB, Vietnam. When he came to Keesler as a civilian employee in 1982, Mr. Knotts was initially assigned to assist in writing and teaching the long range air navigation course. In 1987, he was assigned to the special training flight. After attending the Cardion factory school at Long Island, N.Y., he assisted in writing the course to teach the VORTAC system, which includes the VHF omni range and the tactical air navigation system. After all course documents were prepared, he prepared several other instructors to teach the VOR system course. Also in 1987, Mr. Knotts attended Bell factory training for the microwave instrument landing system. He was assigned as Air Training Command's representative for system validation and completed the training evaluation portion of the validation. In 1990, he was assigned to the basic navigational aids course and became qualified to teach six of the 12 blocks. He's been instrumental in the upgrade of the navigational aids course to the METNAV course when the meteorological equipment was added and later upgraded to the airfield systems course when the ground radio course was added. Mr. Knotts earned associate degrees in radio technology and occupational instructing from the Community College of the Air Force and two associate degrees in operating engineering and air conditioning and refrigeration from Mississippi Gulf Coast Com-munity College. He also holds refrigerant transition and recovery certification from Ferris State University. While on active duty, he was an NCO Academy honor graduate and earned numerous NCO of the quarter and NCO of the year awards. He received his master instructor certification in 1975 and graduated with honors from Keesler's ground radio systems supervisor/technician 9-level school. He earned the Joint Service Medal, Air Force Commen-dation Medal with multiple devices, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with devices, Overseas Campaign Medals and National Defense Service Medals. As a civilian, Mr. Knotts has earned sustained superior performance awards, letters of commendation and civilian of the quarter awards. Mr. Knotts and his wife, Fay, live in Biloxi. They have two children, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.