Allen County native Gerald Roark made his way to the pilot seat of one of the most important aircraft in Desert Storm through the Air Force ROTC program at WKU. He began his USAF career in the Strategic Air Command performing air-to-air refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker. In Vietnam, he refueled B-52 bombers during Project ARCLIGHT, as well as F-4, A-7, F-111 and F-105 fighters totaling 119 missions across Southeast Asia. After the war, he was chosen to procure, equip and train the air wing of the newly-created US Central Command. These aircraft, designated EC-135, carried top-secret communications equipment and transported the commanding generals of CENTCOM. During Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Lt Col Roark was the command pilot for General Norman Schwarzkopf.