our third panelist is gordon o'tanner. a member of the senior executive service. mr. tanner is the principal deputy council of the air force and works here in the pentagon. he provides oversight, guidance, direction and guidance regarding legal advice on all matters arising within the air force. mr. tanner earned his bachelor's degree from the university of alabama and his juris doctorate. he retired as a colonel. while i'm not a lawyer, and i definitely won't make any lawyer jokes because i know there's more than a few of you in this room, i do want to point out that it's significant to note that mr. tanner is a member of the u.s. supreme court bar, the d.c., tennessee and alabama bars. i'm not going to pressure him too much, but it's important to point out that our event here was designed for the pentagon work force. a work force of military and civilian personnel. with the introductions complete, i'd like to begin this discussion. i'm going to ask each panel member to tell their own personal story and then i'll come back to them to see if there's any other points t