By Daryl Mayer
ESC Public Affairs

June 22 looks to be a very unusual day in the life of Col. Alphronzo Moseley, commander of the Global Air Traffic Systems Group. It will be the first time in 34 years he hasn’t had an Air Force uniform to wear.

Anyone interested in pointing out that Colonel Moseley wasn’t technically in the Air Force while attending college should be ready for a fight.

“Even in ROTC, I was still committed to the Air Force and that makes it 34 years,” he states flatly.

The first of those years began for this self-described Georgian from Albany (pronounced Al-bennie), Ga, where deep feelings of patriotism and a profound respect for the military are a part of the culture. For many young Southern men and women, being “in the service” is a common career path. For a young Al Moseley, it was even more so.

That is because standing out during his formative years were the visits home by his brother Seminole, who is ten years his senior. His brother had embarked on a 27-year career of his own by enlisting in the Air Force to become a jet engine mechanic.

“The two things I remember most is he always looked sharp in his uniform and he always had a lot of money,” said Colonel Moseley. “I wanted to be like him.”

So when he came of age, he enlisted in the Air Force and became a teletype repairman. Serving overseas at Clark Air Base in the Philippines during the conclusion of the Vietnam War was a dynamic environment. While troops, freed POWs and eventually the Embassy Staff from Saigon were on the move, so was the future colonel. Taking classes when he wasn’t working 12-hour shifts, he earned an associate’s degree in electronics technology from the Los Angeles Community College by the time his first enlistment was up.

Always looking to take the next step, he applied for the Airman Scholarship and Commissioning Program. Once accepted, he was placed in the Air Force ROTC program at Tuskegee University with a 4-year AFROTC scholarship in electrical engineering. A mere three and one half years later, Colonel Moseley graduated summa cum laude and went to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to work as a computer systems engineer on the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night, or LANTIRN program.

A number of challenging assignments, each different from the last, ensued before Colonel Moseley went to Los Angeles AFB, Calif., first as the program manager for the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Block IIF Satellite program, and later as the program manager for the Global Broadcast System. Having much of his team on the west coast necessitated a rigorous travel schedule. Nonetheless, he encountered this obstacle like all the other challenges in his career, by taking it head-on.

Colonel Moseley recalled how over the years when his father was still alive, phone calls home never ended until his mother “put your daddy on the phone.”

The message was constant.

“Son,” his father would advise, “always keep your chin up.”

“To me, I took that to mean go forth, do well and not be afraid to make your own path,” Colonel Moseley said.

Looking at a map showing all his Air Force assignments, he proudly points out that he never served in the same place twice. He says it illustrates his devotion to his father’s charge.

As an example, Colonel Moseley offers that when leaving Air War College, his peers told him the wise choice to be competitive was to take an assignment in a familiar specialty. Preferring to take the road less traveled, the colonel chose to go into a new field for him and took an assignment in the space arena.

If it was his brother who convinced Colonel Moseley to join the Air Force, it was the prospect of another challenging assignment or opportunity to try something different that kept him in.

“That is what kept me driven throughout my career,” said Colonel Moseley. “Every young officer or enlisted person I mentor, I encourage them to learn something different and try something new in the Air Force to avoid becoming stagnant.”

One of his legacies he’s leaving the Air Force is that he is a founding member of the Air Force Cadet Officer Mentor Action Program (AFCOMAP), and the individual who is credited with naming the organization when it was formed in 1989. AFCOMAP was officially chartered for service in the Air Force in 1994 by the Secretary of the Air Force. Affectionately called the “father of Air Force mentoring,” he has mentored numerous cadets, enlisted members, and officers over the years.

To prepare for his next challenge, that is life outside the Air Force, Colonel Moseley began his mental transition about a year ago. “It’s tough to leave an Air Force family that I’ve been a part of since I was 18 years old. But I’ve enjoyed the past 34 years, and now it’s time for me to turn my Air Force over to the next generation,” he said.

“I will miss the people, the camaraderie, and the relationships I’ve developed at Hanscom -- I give a final salute to the Air Force -- it’s been a great ride!” said Colonel Moseley.

After retiring, the colonel and his wife, Joyce, plan to move to Northern Virginia.

At this point, they are both looking forward to seeing what the next chapter in their book will look like.