Page 32 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2024 - Online Magazine
P. 32
Colonel Patrick
Albritton (Ret.) The Task at
Hand
by Jane Bromley
Wray, convinced skills as Commander of the
Patrick to come Operations Flight of the 8th Civil
to Texas Tech. He Engineer Squadron, overseeing
earned a BS in maintenance of the huge base.
Civil Engineering One notable highlight: his Wing
and participated Commander at Kunsan was
in Air Force fellow Red Raider, Gen. Charles
ROTC. “They Q. Brown, current Chairman of
were my family the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
in Lubbock.” Dr.
Wray presented During the next four years, the
his diploma at family acclimated to the DC
Tech graduation area while Albritton trained at
one May morning USMC Command & Staff College
in 1996, and at Quantico, earning a master’s
Lt. Col. Wray in military science. He then
commissioned assumed various roles at the
him in the Pentagon, continuing to focus on
USAF that same the job in front of him.
f you examine the lives of afternoon.
successful people, you can Sandwiched in the Pentagon
Ioften discover a guiding After earning a master’s in years was a six-month
principle, a thread that is evident engineering from AFIT at deployment to Joint Base,
throughout every chapter. For Wright-Patterson AFB (where Iraq. As Operations Flight
Patrick Albritton, that principle he met his wife Lisa), the Air Commander, then-Major
appears to be: “Focus on the Force sent the young captain to Albritton oversaw facility
task at hand.” As he adhered to Randolph AFB—first as Director maintenance for 8000+ troops.
that standard, a productive and of Operations of Command In addition, the engineers
fulfilling life followed. Tactical Deception, then as helped resolve a water crisis for
Facility Program Manager, and local citizens, gaining them an
The impressive 25-year finally, as Military Construction additional 2.3M gallons of water
military career of Texas Tech Manager, overseeing a $10M per day. “I enjoyed being with
University’s current Associate renovation. Son Connor was born the local workers and found very
VP for Auxiliary Services was in San Antonio. few cared about politics. Like us,
not something he envisioned they cared about the quality of
growing up in Austin. He The family’s next stop was their day-to-day lives.”
assumed he would become a Malmstrom AFB Montana where
firefighter like his dad, but his Albritton served as Readiness In 2011, Maj. Albritton was
parents were insistent that he get Flight Commander for the 341st named Commander of the 336th
a degree first. He didn’t always Civil Engineer Squadron and was Support Squadron at the USAF
see where life was taking him, later promoted to Wing Executive Survive, Evade, Resist, and
but he focused on excelling at the Officer. Son Colton was born in Escape (SERE) School at Fairchild
task in front of him and followed Montana, and the family enjoyed AFB in WA—the first civil
the path that opened before him. traveling throughout the Pacific engineering officer appointed
Northwest. as squadron commander for
He was accepted to every Civil the 336th. The Albrittons were
Engineering college in Texas, but A remote deployment to glad to be back in the Pacific
the attention he received from Kunsan Air Base, Korea, Northwest, and Albritton was
then-TTU Dept. Chair, Dr. Kent stretched Albritton‘s leadership promoted to Lt. Col.
32 Lubbock Senior Link
