Retired Col. Mike Butler of Rembert, SC was working as a private contractor in Iraq as an employee of DynCorp International. He was a 1976 graduate of the Air Force Academy and had served as squadron commander at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and a group commander at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. Mike lived in Yorktown with his family for six years, based at Langley Air Force Base, before moving to South Carolina in 2003. As a retired Air Force colonel he had 31 years' experience in nearly all aspects of logistics, including supply, maintenance, transportation, contracting, aircraft maintenance, munitions, food service, billeting, and logistics plans. He was a senior manager supporting DynCorp International personnel assigned to the Civilian Police Advisory Training Team. He had been in Iraq since December 2006. Mike was the son of the late George Cooper and Jeanette Butler and raised in Omaha. After graduating from North High School he spent a year at the University of Nebraska before being appointed to the United States Air Force Academy in 1972. He entered with the class of '76 in June 1972 and graduated with CS-40 on June 2, 1976. Mike was commissioned and began an illustrious and rewarding career as an aircraft maintenance officer. Mike proudly served at various levels in the Air Force, including command of the 50th Component Repair Squadron at Hahn AB, Germany, and later of the 39th Logistics Group at Incirlik AB, Turkey. Col. Butler retired from the Air Force after 30 years of distinguished military service to our country on July 1, 2006 as the CENTAF Director of Logistics, a demanding position he held for three years. After retirement, Mike took some much-deserved vacation with his family, including a trip around the world with Joanne. He and Joanne then settled in rural Rembert; however, Mike could not stay settled for long. He signed on with DynCorp International in December 2006 to be the senior deputy program manager for CIVPOL and went back to the region where he spent much of his Air Force career. Mike brought his leadership to the program and carried on with his "I've got to see it to believe it" approach to business. It was this type of hands-on approach and "lead from the front" mentality that made him beloved to everyone with whom he worked. Mike spent his last days doing what he loved to do and what he knew best, leading. All who met him instantly recognized him as a genuine, forthright and fun-loving man. Whether as a husband, father, friend, superior or subordinate, Mike took the time to make a difference for the people around him. His absence is deeply felt, but his legacy will live on in the countless lives he has touched over his decades of service. He was preceded in death by one brother, Joseph Eugene Butler. He died when the five-vehicle convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and then attacked with small-arms fire while traveling near Tikrit. He was 53.
Retired Col. Mike Butler of Rembert, SC was working as a private contractor in Iraq as an employee of DynCorp International. He was a 1976 graduate of the Air Force Academy and had served as squadron commander at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and a group commander at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. Mike lived in Yorktown with his family for six years, based at Langley Air Force Base, before moving to South Carolina in 2003. As a retired Air Force colonel he had 31 years' experience in nearly all aspects of logistics, including supply, maintenance, transportation, contracting, aircraft maintenance, munitions, food service, billeting, and logistics plans. He was a senior manager supporting DynCorp International personnel assigned to the Civilian Police Advisory Training Team. He had been in Iraq since December 2006. Mike was the son of the late George Cooper and Jeanette Butler and raised in Omaha. After graduating from North High School he spent a year at the University of Nebraska before being appointed to the United States Air Force Academy in 1972. He entered with the class of '76 in June 1972 and graduated with CS-40 on June 2, 1976. Mike was commissioned and began an illustrious and rewarding career as an aircraft maintenance officer. Mike proudly served at various levels in the Air Force, including command of the 50th Component Repair Squadron at Hahn AB, Germany, and later of the 39th Logistics Group at Incirlik AB, Turkey. Col. Butler retired from the Air Force after 30 years of distinguished military service to our country on July 1, 2006 as the CENTAF Director of Logistics, a demanding position he held for three years. After retirement, Mike took some much-deserved vacation with his family, including a trip around the world with Joanne. He and Joanne then settled in rural Rembert; however, Mike could not stay settled for long. He signed on with DynCorp International in December 2006 to be the senior deputy program manager for CIVPOL and went back to the region where he spent much of his Air Force career. Mike brought his leadership to the program and carried on with his "I've got to see it to believe it" approach to business. It was this type of hands-on approach and "lead from the front" mentality that made him beloved to everyone with whom he worked. Mike spent his last days doing what he loved to do and what he knew best, leading. All who met him instantly recognized him as a genuine, forthright and fun-loving man. Whether as a husband, father, friend, superior or subordinate, Mike took the time to make a difference for the people around him. His absence is deeply felt, but his legacy will live on in the countless lives he has touched over his decades of service. He was preceded in death by one brother, Joseph Eugene Butler. He died when the five-vehicle convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and then attacked with small-arms fire while traveling near Tikrit. He was 53.
