Walkabout

Who I am

 

In my career I've been an Air Force pilot, a corporate pilot, and an intelligence analyst, eventually becoming an intelligence supervisor in Army Intelligence and the U. S. Department of Energy.  After retirement I worked several years for Computer Science Corporation as a contractor supervisor overseeing classified document review and declassification at the Department of Energy. 

 

I have two adult daughters, adopted from Russia back in the 1990s.  My wife and I are active in a regional community of parents with children afflicted with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).  I'm also a Methodist, active in church and in local charitable programs.   I try to live by the words of the prophet Micah:  "Do justice, practice kindness, and walk humbly with your God."

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I have a wide-ranging interest in history, particularly military history, and I enjoy writing book reviews for publications such as the Journal of Military History, the Michigan War Studies Review, and Vietnam Magazine.  I'll link to those available on the open web, and upload any reviews and articles that didn't make the cut.

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Got my first PC back in 1982, a Kaypro.  I was lucky enough to "catch the wave" as the U.S. Government discovered computers and networks in the 1980s, and a highlight of my professional career in the intelligence business was becoming the Information Technology Program Manager for the Intelligence Office at the Department of Energy.  (Hey, who needs a computer science degree?)  Played a role in dragging DOE Intelligence out of the mainframe era into the age of client/server, blasting through Y2K, getting up on Intelink, and all that.  Since getting on the Internet myself in 1993 I've been a member of the venerable Vietnam War Discussion List.  I regard all the men and women on that list as friends, even though I haven't met most of them in person.  We are still talking about that war, trying to make sense of it after all these years.  I also follow several progressive political blogs, such as Lawyers, Guns and Money, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality with Both Hands, Mark Kleiman's The Reality Based Community, and Crooked Timber.  

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In case anybody cares:  I graduated from Southern Illinois University with a BA in political science; also the National Defense Intelligence College with an MS.  And yeah, I used to have hair.

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I'm not going to mess with comments.  If you have something to say, you can reach me via e-mail:  rmhitchens at netscape.net.  (I snagged a webmail account back when Netscape was the greatest thing ever!)  If your level of discourse is reasonable I may reply; I believe in keeping things civil on the Internet.