Meet Lt. Col. Mayer

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Rachelle Elsea
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  On Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., 1966, Lt. Col. Charles C. Mayer, 325th Air Control Squadron Commander, was born into the Air Force as the son of an enlisted B-52 Mechanic. Upon his father's separation from the military, his family moved home to the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minn.

His mother began working at the University of Minnesota as a medical technologist and his father took on a job at a computerized photo development company.

"My father eventually joined the Air National Guard," said Colonel Mayer. "He retired as a master sergeant."

Four years after Colonel Mayer's birth, they concluded the family with another son.

Growing up Colonel Mayer played baseball, softball and soccer, but his real passion was aviation.

"My father's service got me interested in the Air Force," said Colonel Mayer. "But, he was also into aircraft photography and keeping up with military aviation; it was always around the house."

Living in Minnesota, Colonel Mayer had few experiences with the military.

"There were no bases near us, but whenever I had the opportunity to go to an air show and rub elbows with the guys that worked in or around airplanes, I did," said Colonel Mayer. "Since kindergarten I knew what I wanted to do."

Colonel Mayer spent four years in ROTC at the University of Minnesota where he majored in political science and minored in history. Several years later, he mastered in defense decision making and military management.

After college graduation, Colonel Mayer's first stop with the Air Force was at Tyndall. He went through the air weapons controller course, which is now the air battle manager course.

He became a controller and eventually continued on as an instructor.

His next assignment took him to Osan Air Base, Korea.

"It was a great time in my life," said Colonel Mayer. "You devote all your energy, 24/7 to the mission instead of everything else that can sidetrack you in your life; it was neat. By the end of that tour I found myself in charge of six to eight people, controlling all the Air Force aircraft flying over South Korea."

Next, he traveled to Tinker AFB, Okla., for AWACS training; Fairchild AFB, Wash., for survival training; and accepted orders to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.

"I got married on my way up to Alaska," said Colonel Mayer. "I met my wife in college but, she was a couple years younger so we waited for her to finish school; we said I do in 1993."

They spent their honeymoon on a ferry boat from Washington to Southeast Alaska, where they shared a small cabin with a bunk-bed.

During his time in Alaska the Air Force experienced a tragedy when an E-3 Sentry crashed, killing all 24 crewmembers.

"It had a deep impact; I started to focus more on leadership and not so much on being a great technician," said Colonel Mayer. "The things I saw the squadron do to help those families was nothing short of heroic. It has really stuck with me and shaped a large part of my career."

Following Alaska, he returned to Tinker AFB, and eventually moved on to Nellis AFB, Nev., the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and Langley AFB, Va. In 2006, he found himself back where he started, at Tyndall AFB.

He has now been serving for 20 years and plans to at least stay in another five years. He would like to one day serve in Europe.

"It would not be politically correct to say I would have been a bum if I was not in the Air Force," said Colonel Mayer. "I don't know what I would have done had I not joined; it was the only thing I was interested in and wanted to do. I did not want to punch a time card and I did not want to wear a suit; I wanted to travel and do something meaningful."

Outside of work, Colonel Mayer enjoys golf, which he admits to being not so good at and fly fishing. But more importantly, he spends most weekends with his family.

His wife Angie, began a career as an interior designer, but soon took a break to raise a family.

"I am not home very much," said Colonel Mayer. "My wife is kind of like a single parent. She is very efficient and organized."

They now have a 9-year-old, Mackenzie and 6-year-old, Natalie. They both participate in gymnastics and Mackenzie swims.

But the family would not be complete without the pet turtle, Lucky.

"My girls love Lucky," said Colonel Mayer. "I am not sure why he is lucky. I guess he is lucky to have two girls that love him."

Colonel Mayer would like to retire with his family in Alaska.

"The longer we live in Florida the more my wife grows attached," said Colonel Mayer. "If we could live in Florida for the winter and Alaska for the summer, my wife would be happy."

As a commander, Colonel Mayer concentrates on improving his squadron. Within the next month, his biggest goal will be starting a new syllabus, so they are able to standardize flying training for all ABMs.

"If we can complete that, I will consider this a very successful tour," said Colonel Mayer. "We are also awaiting construction of our new operations facility that will allow all of our buildings to be on one side of the street."

Colonel Mayer said his position at Tyndall has been his favorite thus far.

"I am very humbled to have the opportunity to be here at a cool place like Tyndall and be able to work with truly the best Air Battle Managers and fighter pilots in the Air Force," said Colonel Mayer. "It makes this a very special place for a training environment, which many do not realize until they are gone."

For a closer look at the 325th Air Control Squadron click here.