Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mark 'Sluggo' Hasara. In the fifth and final episode about his military career, Sluggo talks about standing up the Tanker Weapons School, and how the school took off after an alarming setback early in the process.About 'Sluggo'Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mark Hasara is a veteran of four wars and a KC-135 air refueling expert whose tactical and strategic knowledge have shaped the way air mobility operations are executed around the globe to this day.Mark was chosen as the Deputy Commander of the team creating the U.S. Air Force’s KC-135 Weapons School—a PhD-level course on global air refueling operations that trains the best and brightest aircrew to think, fight, and win in the skies. Just eight days after 9/11, Mark deployed to the Middle East and began orchestrating air refueling missions for coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. His ability to plan and execute complex operations earned him the prestigious Air Mobility Command’s Tanker Tactician of the Year award in 2002.Mark’s expertise wasn’t confined to the cockpit. In 2003, he was handpicked to join the National Defense University’s Joint and Combined Warfighter School, where he taught U.S. and international military leaders the art of campaign and crisis action planning at the highest levels of command.In 2017, Mark published his acclaimed book Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit, giving readers a front-row seat to some of the most critical moments in modern air warfare. He also hosts the popular Lessons from the Cockpit podcast, where he takes listeners behind the scenes of military and civilian aviation’s most extraordinary events. Mark and his wife Valerie call the Salt Lake City area home.About the hosts:Mitch 'TACO' Parmentier has 16 years of experience with the F/A-18 Super Hornet as a Weapons System Operator (WSO). He has a longstanding love of aviation and history that he brings to the podcast.Beth Bailey was raised by F-14 Radar Intercept Officer Glen 'Wheels' Wheless and grew up around aviators and their unique brand of storytelling for most of her childhood. Beth worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner, and host of The Afghanistan Project Podcast.