The Global Power Museum Association (formally the Eighth Air Force Museum Association) Distinguished Speaker Series is scheduled for March 8th at the new Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Conference Center, Bossier City, LA. Silent Auction at 6:00, Dinner is scheduled for 7:00. Cost including dinner is $40 each. Dress is Business Casual, Open Collar. Please RSVP until March 6th, 2013 to info@8afmuseum.com, or call the Museum Gift Shop at 318-752-0055.

The Distinguished Speaker Series highlights a well known spokesperson throughout the year for a dining event to remember. The Museum Association is proud to present Colonel Paul W. Tibbets IV, Commander, Air Force Inspection Agency, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. Col. Tibbets will relay his experiences flying the B-1, B-2 and a bit of insight, as the grandson of the pilot for the Enola Gay.

Col. Tibbets received his commission through the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989. Following graduation, he served in a variety of operational assignments as a B-1 pilot and later as a B-2 pilot and squadron commander. The colonel flew combat missions in support of operations in Southwest Asia, the Balkans and Afghanistan.

His most recent assignments include Commander, 393d Bomb Squadron, Whiteman AFB, Mo.; Chief, Nuclear and CBRN Defense Policy Branch, NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium; Vice Commander, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia; and currently the Commander of the Air Force Inspection Agency, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The agency is a diverse team of experts providing independent inspection, evaluation and analysis to advance continuous improvement of mission effectiveness at all Air Force levels. Some of his awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and Combat Readiness Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Colonel Tibbets is a command pilot with more than 3,800 flying hours.

“Col. Tibbets has some great stories flying the B-1 and the B-2” reports Phil Stewart, Vice President of the Museum Association, “and to have a grandson’s perspective of the pilot of the Enola Gay promises to be a great event.”