In this article, The AFIT Foundation will be recognizing Colonel Uduak Udoaka, leader of the Logistics Operations Division at U.S. Africa Command.

Colonel Udoaka received his M.S. in Logistics Management from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in 2006. He grew up intrigued by space and while attending military school in Nigeria he met an American astronaut, Navy Captain Bruce McCandless II, the first to perform an untethered spacewalk. This further entrenched his desire for the air and space domain. Colonel Udoaka joined AFROTC, obtained a flying slot, and ended up in Dayton, Ohio, as a scientist/chemist researching safe and environmentally compliant aircraft deicing fluids to assure safety of flight. Today, he leads logistics operations at U.S. Africa Command and is retiring, effective this summer, from the Air Force after 30 years of service.

Colonel Udoaka’s favorite memory at AFIT comes second only to the birth of his youngest son. He had the opportunity to be on a Sigma Iota Epsilon team that won a U.S. State Department national competition on U.S. foreign service talent management. The AFIT experience was pivotal for Colonel Udoaka. He was the youngest Major in his IDE (Integrated Development Environment) class and got to be mentored by the best field grade officers in the Air Force at the time. The courses he took and the faculty at AFIT brought out critical thinking and analytical rigor skills in him to make him a better leader in the logistics enterprise. Those skills have served him well for the past two decades.

When asked about what advice he would give to those considering going into the military, Colonel Udoaka paraphrases Simon Sinek by saying, “figure out your why.” The military is a calling and not simply a job. He also advises people to get to know the person in the mirror. Once you know your superpower early, you will follow and lead better. Finally, he says to like the person in the mirror as that is how you will withstand the storms that will come. Thank you, Colonel Udoaka!