Col. Vince Albert retires with sense of pride, accomplishment

  • Published
  • By Janae' Daniels
  • AEDC/PA
Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. --  It is rare for an officer in the Air Force to be stationed at one location twice, but it is even rarer if they stay at that one location for a combined 12 years.

For Col. Vince Albert, National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex director and former Arnold Engineering Development Center vice commander, this was the exception.

When he entered the Air Force through Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps after graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1977, the colonel wanted what many newly commissioned officers want, to be a pilot.

"My original motivation was to fly," he said. "It turned out the Air Force didn't need as many pilots as they thought so I was offered the opportunity to take an engineering position instead."

He decided to take the offer with the intent of staying only for his four year commitment and then moving on to something else. Fast forward 30 years and he is retiring from the Air Force at the end of this month.

"Turned out I really enjoyed it and liked the work I was doing," the colonel said. "I liked the affect my work had on the Air Force as a whole. So one assignment led to another and before I knew it 30 years had passed."

Most of his career has been spent in the Air Force Materiel Command doing laboratory, acquisition and test work.

His 12 years at AEDC began in 1990 when he served as chief of the Turbine Engine Testing Facilities branch. He also served as deputy chief of the Aerodynamics Test Division, technical area manager of the Engine Test Division and deputy chief, Plans and Programs directorate.

The colonel was involved in many test programs for systems such as the F-22 and F-18. In addition, he helped transfer engine testing facilities and personnel from the Trenton, N.J. Navy facility to AEDC.

From AEDC he went to Headquarters Air Force at the Pentagon in 1995, where he served in the directorate of Test and Evaluation as chief, Test Facilities Investments Division. In addition to managing Air Force investment programs, the colonel was also the HQ Air Force action officer for the transition of Hypervelocity Tunnel 9 from the Navy to AEDC.

He returned here in 2000 where he became the chief of the Engine Test Division. In 2002, he became the director of Test Operations. He later became the vice commander serving under (Ret.) Brig. Gen. David Stringer.

In 2005 he had the opportunity to help transition another facility in California, the world's largest wind tunnel.

"This project has been especially fun," he said. "They have a great group out there. It's a lot like AEDC -- a unique facility, with a dedicated and motivated team. It was also a unique experience because major test facilities do not get reactivated very often after being closed for several years."

The colonel admits the jobs he's held at AEDC have been the most fulfilling in his entire Air Force career.

"I have spent a lot of time here not only because I like the area," he said. "But, because I like the mission as well. I have really enjoyed watching the types of test that we do here and see how what we do make a difference."

After retirement, the colonel has a few home improvement projects in the works and just hopes to spend more time at home. The colonel's family has stayed behind in Tullahoma during the last several assignments.

"I've been away from home a lot," he said. "I've got a lot of catching up to do. But after that there are no definite plans."

The colonel and his wife have four children and four grandchildren most of which live in the area. He has a son in the Air Force who is stationed at Pope AFB, N.C. where he is a flight engineer on a C-130.