Page 15 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2022 - Online Magazine

Air Force
democracy we
have in the Middle
East and a staunch ally, not to mention
the Holy Land and those connections,”
Lou said. His role as an advocate for that
relationship is to engage Congress to
provide security assistance and missile
defense funding that supports our mutual
national security.

As a little boy on the farm with dreams of
flying and seeing the big picture, Lou has
managed to accomplish even more than
he imagined doing from
In the last years of his military the cockpit of an airplane.
career, he was a Congressional His resolve to keep our
liaison working on Capitol Hill for nation safe, tenacity to
the Air Force on appropriations and help those who have
authorizations legislation. He has fought for our country,
traveled all over the world as senior and determination to
ranking military officer on many commission the next
Congressional delegation fact-finding generation of military
trips. leaders IS the Big Picture.
For all those reasons, we
In 2011, Colonel Lou Ortiz retired after are grateful for his service.
30 years of service.

After his military service, Lou worked at Texas Tech
as Special Assistant to the President, Assistant Vice
President for Research, and Director of Military &
Veterans Programs until 2018.

In 2016, Lou was a founder of the Texas Tech Military
& Veterans Alumni Network, an affiliate group of
the TTU Alumni Association, and he is still actively
involved as a board member. Along with offering
scholarships for military veterans coming to Tech,
the organization's mission is to make sure that the
service and sacrifice of Red Raiders is not forgotten.
Currently, they are working on a Military & Veterans
Tribute Walk at Memorial Circle to be dedicated next
year.

In addition to his involvement with veterans, for the
last five years, he has served on Senator Cornyn’s
Service Academy Selection Board whose purpose is
to review and choose which applicants will receive
appointments to the service academies. In essence,
“We get to pick the next generation of military
officers.”
To a lesser degree, he is working with the American
Israeli Public Affairs Committee, a bipartisan political
organization that works with Congress to support
the U.S./Israel relationship. “They are the only

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