rapidfire
F Retiree Spotlight
rom migrant farmhand to rocket scientist to CEO, Lt. Col. Ed Muñiz, USAF-Ret., always
has reached for the stars. After earn- ing aerospace engineering degrees from Texas A&M University, he spent 20 years in the military’s space program. In 1992, he launched MEI Technologies, a Houston company that helps NASA, Boeing, and other clients explore the final frontier. Did the military prepare you for entrepreneurship? The Air Force helped a great deal. The essential elements of a successful business [are] trust, teamwork, and pride in work- manship — three things that the military emphasizes. What are your inspirations? My dad was honest and an entrepreneur. I always main- tain his values of hard work, ethics, and integrity. We never had a whole lot of money … but he cherished the freedom of being self-employed. He ran a tortilla factory for part of the year. During the sum- mer, the family picked peaches,
grapes, tomatoes, [and] apricots in California. … We’d come back and pick cotton in south Texas. [But] you don’t want to do that for the rest of your life. It inspired me to go to school. Where did you finish your military career? Here at the Johnson Space Center [in Houston]. I [com- manded] a squadron … training to operate the space shuttle in a top-secret environment out of Colorado. The Air Force gave MEI Technologies its big break — a $10 mil- lion contract. We still have that con- tract … helping the military conduct experiments on space shuttles and space stations. We’ve even conducted experiments on Mir. Your company began as Muñiz Engineering. Why did you change the name? The tilde gave everybody a problem. [People] called us MEI because they couldn’t pronounce “Muñiz” and didn’t want to type the tilde. We shortened the original name and added … “Technologies,” the thread that ties together our growth strategy. [But] the makeup of the American population is shifting. … We’re getting more and more Hispanics all over the country. Someday … I may just change it back.
— Teresa Talerico Attention! Check out these military-related entertainment offerings.
BOOK Bomber Coun- try (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010) This book of poetry tells the story of author Daniel Swift’s search for clues about the disappear- ance of his grandfather, World War II Royal Air Force pilot James Eric Swift.
DVD Paths of Glory (Cri- terion Collection, 2010) In Stanley Kubrick’s powerful 1957 film, a World War I French colonel is accused of cowardice after being un- able to carry out an impos- sible mission. This restored digital transfer on Blu-ray
2 8 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R O C TO B E R 2 0 1 0
includes new commentary and interviews. The film is based on a novel by Humphrey Cobb.
BOOK Fighter Pilot (St. Martin’s Press, 2010) Best known as the leader of a F-4 Wolfpack battling over
North Vietnam, author Robin Olds tells his story of passion, leadership, love and disappointment in this memoir. He includes passages about coaching football at West Point, N.Y., and his marriage to actress Ella Raines.
MO PHOTO: LEE RODRIGUEZ
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96