The following article was first published on August 14, 2011, when Retiree News was an e-newsletter.
It started when Stephen Lum, who worked at the State Department of Defense Public Affairs Office, emailed this photograph of Arnold “Balt” Balthazar to Retiree News. We forwarded it to then-Col Braden “Mongo” Sakai for comments. The following was Mongo’s reply.
Lt Col Arnold “Balt” Balthazar was my F-15 instructor in Tyndall AFB, Florida (who handpicked me because our parents are good friends from the US Post Office… his in Maui and my dad here in Honolulu), back in 1987. We (HIANG) later picked him up with the 154th Wing.
Upon joining us, we sent him to USAF Fighter Weapons School and he literally transformed the 199th Fighter Squadron (199 FS) into what it is today. Don’t get me wrong, the 199 FS has always been the best, but, Balt brought it to a new high level of excellence. He, in my opinion, is a major reason why we have the Raptors today. He instilled Excellence in all we do and demanded perfection from the 199 FS.
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