Lt. Col. Klinko completes 33+ year Air Force career

Published Feb. 24, 2006
By Capt. Jeffrey White, Public Affairs
507th Air Refueling Wing

Tinker AFB, Okla. -- March 29, 2006 was far in the distant future when Lt. Col. Don Klinko, then Second Lieutenant Klinko, first swore his oath and entered into uniformed service on May 27, 1972.

That day, though, is quickly approaching.

Colonel Klinko will officially retire on March 29th, but he will continue to work until the very last hour, providing younger officers experienced insight on the makings of a great officer and warrior. And on that date, when the last chime of the midnight bell rings welcoming in a new day, he will bid farewell to one challenge and pursue another.

“Never quit! You can always keep going! Take care of each other. Someone is always watching you. There may not always be immediate results, but…your decisions are serving as an example to others.” These are just a few words of advice from an Airman who lived them.

He’s had to. The early part of the ‘70s was a time of uncertainty for those in the military. Many were drafted and some volunteered for service. Colonel Klinko was of the latter mindset. “Someone had to do it,” he simply believed.

While he may not have gone overseas to Vietnam, he made sure to always be ready to defend his nation. His approach? SPEC: Security Police Elements for Contingencies. That training gave him the opportunity he needed to be a part of an Interservice Exchange with the Marines and work for Company “B”, 4th Recon Battalion in Billings, Mt. Vietnam may have received a lot of attention, but there was still the Cold War. With over 12,000 square miles and 10 operating locations, he and his troops secured silos, which housed nuclear missiles.

While many Americans watched sports, worked and watched their kids grow up, he and his troops trained and were evaluated on their skills at patrolling techniques, winter survival, mobile and fixed radio communications and emergency medical treatment. From 1973 to 1977, our missiles, which were critical to national security, were entrusted to his ability to safeguard them.

And when the war was over, he quietly pursued other challenges: Like earning his Masters of Arts in 1977 and reaching the pinnacle of his formal education by earning his Doctorate of Philosophy in 1986. During those years, he quietly served as an instructor in the Washington State University English Department and was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Idaho State University.

He donned the blues again when he joined the Air Force Reserve in 1982 as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee, and proceeded to various assignments such as Headquarters Strategic Air Command, Offutt AFB, NE and Headquarters, 3rd Air Division, Hickam AFB, HI. He was given a Special Duty Assignment, where he served as an instructor at Detachment 905, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.

History has a way of being repeated if not learned from the first time and it has been said that those in power are the ones who write the history. As Colonel Klinko, who served as civil service Historian and Wing Executive Officer, points out, “the Air Force is bigger than you are.” Sept. 11, 2001 shook Americans in a new way: We were attacked on our own soil in a manner at least rivaling that of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Realizing that his country needed his expertise more than ever, Colonel Klinko stepped up to bat as the Force Protection/Antiterrorist Advisor and re-entered Extended Active Duty against the War on Terror.Using his military-honed skills in observation and critical analysis against terrorist methods, he identified and rectified numerous facility and procedural vulnerabilities state-side. In December 2001, he was appointed to travel to Incirlik AB Turkey and evaluate FP/AT measures taken to protect group personnel deployed there.

Recently, he was awarded his fourth Meritorious Service Medal in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Numerous herculean challenges were faced and overcome, like finding and delivering ½ million gallons of aviation fuel to prevent mission cancellations. Somewhere out there are at least 25 people who are alive due to the direct leadership of Colonel Klinko.

Looking back, he served during Vietnam, the Cold War, Desert Shield/Storm and the War on Terror. From harsh mountain warfare training exercises to securing our troops in the heat of the desert, he has faced many challenges, one by one, and prevailed.

“All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.”
-- Winston Churchill

“Never quit! You can always keep going!” Words from Colonel Klinko.

A warrior fought until the end, believing his purpose for his nation. When all the accolades have been pronounced and all the handshakes given, again, quietly, Colonel Klinko will push forward, ready to face any challenges that come his way.