Col. Bruce Huffman thanks Col. Phil Osterli for his presentation on the Vietnam War.
Former Lt. William Myers, CEC, USN
The Catalina Mountain Chapter (CMC) of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) held its recent meeting on Nov. 15 at SaddleBrooke Ranch. The meeting began with a business session presided over by CMC’s First Vice President, retired Col. Bruce Huffman, U.S. Army, during which members were updated on the chapter’s current activities.
Our speaker was CMC member, retired Col. Phil Osterli, U.S. Army, who graduated from the University of California Davis in 1963 and was commissioned a second lieutenant through the ROTC program. His active-duty service began on Jan. 1, 1966, following attending graduate school. After flight school, Phil was assigned to the 335th Assault Helicopter Company in the Republic of Vietnam.
Phil’s presentation focused on the year he spent in the Republic of Vietnam—how he got there, what his year entailed, and what happened afterward. His presentation featured many photographs from his service with the 335th Assault Helicopter Company flying the UH-1 “Huey.”
From Jan. 1 through Dec. 24, 1967, Col. Osterli accumulated 586 combat flight hours. During his Vietnam tour, he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 20 Oak Leaf Clusters, and numerous other military awards.
The next regular meeting of CMC will be on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, at SaddleBrooke Ranch. The speaker will be CMC member, retired Lt. Col. Mark R. Schwartz, USAF. Col. Schwartz’s active-duty and reserve career spanned from 1973 to 1998, spending more than 1,500 hours in the rear seat of the F-4 Phantom II as navigator and Weapons Systems Officer.
Following his active-duty military service, Col Schwartz worked in the aerospace industry for the next 34 years, including stints with Northrop Aircraft, Lockheed-Martin Corporation, Logica Carnegie Group, and SRS Technologies. Col. Schwartz is also a frequent presenter for the Institute for Learning in Retirement at SaddleBrooke.
Col. Schwartz’s presentation addresses the future of NATO, a topic of growing interest for Europe and the United States.
If you are a former or present officer of the uniformed services interested in joining our organization, please contact Membership Chair, retired Lt. Col. Donald Timian, U.S. Army, by email at dontimian@hotmail.com or by telephone at 571-216-3679.
The membership of CMC encompasses the areas of Catalina, Oracle, parts of Marana and Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, San Manuel, Sun City, and parts of Superstition Mountains. For additional information, please visit our website at catalinamountainsmoaa.org.
The CMC and MOAA are nonprofit, IRS Section 501(c)(19) tax-exempt veterans’ organizations dedicated to maintaining a strong national defense and preserving the earned entitlements of current and former members of the uniformed services and their families.