JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. -- What are family traditions and how can they shape an individual’s future? We had the opportunity to sit down with one family, where traditions have been the backbone of their lives and careers.
Sharing their experiences, Brig. Gen. Chad D. Raduege, and his father Retired Lt. Gen. Harry D. Raduege Jr. came together to celebrate their heritage, past family and the family business.
Both father and son have played executive roles in Air Combat Command Cyberspace and Information Dominance over the past few decades. Brig. Gen Raduege was the Director of Cyberspace and Information Dominance, and Chief Information Officer, at Headquarters Air Combat Command, while his father retired Lt. Gen. Raduege worked as well within the realm of communications as the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, later, Deputy Director, Communications-Computer Systems, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB.
“Family bonding time was built on a foundation of sleeping on the ground together in a tent, during some pretty extreme weather,” Harry said, while reminiscing about their past experiences with his son. “It was 110 degrees during the day in Vegas and we were camping with a family of 5 in a tent.”
That’s what our family traditions are built on Lt. Gen. Raduege exclaimed.
“Chad was dedicated to sports, to his school work and to anything he put his mind to, I could see it at a very early age,”Lt. Gen Raduege said. “I knew he would do great things!”
According to Brig. Gen Raduege, he knew that his father was not always going to be home due to work, but they always focused on the quality of time with their family.
“Growing up, you were, obviously, in very important positions, and you worked very hard,” said Chad. “There was an early recognition that we may not have a lot of quantity of time together, but I was always so appreciative of your focus on the quality.”
To maximize the quality of time, while Lt. Gen Raduege was home, every Friday night, they would have what they called, PD and H, Pizza, Dew and Horizontal.
“If the movie was good you would stay awake,” Lt. Gen Raduege said. “If you were tired there was no judgement if you went horizontal.”
Brig. Gen Raduege continued, that being able to grow and watch his own father’s military successes, he realized early on that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and that he wanted to grow up to have friends like his father had.
“I can remember you bringing me to the office,” Brig. Gen. Raduege said. “Letting me be part of some of the weekend outings or the late evenings… You were the executive Officer, and I was a young eight-year-old.”
Brig. Gen Raduege, reminisced about meeting then Colonel Paul Hyde, who would go on to be a Major General and have the current building that the A6 Communications Directorate is located in, named after him and drawing on his chalk board as young child.
Pulling out a photograph from behind the table, Brig. Gen. Raduege showed his father a picture that his Colonel Hyde had taken of his chalk-board. Pictured is a very complex network of communication connectivity plans done by Hyde; and beneath where Hyde allowed Chad to draw airplanes and a milk truck.
“I remember watching him draw with that colored chalk and he had it all over him,” Lt. Gen Raduege said. “The milk truck he drew was homage to my father who drove a milk truck for 40 years in Columbus, Ohio.”
While they have so many unique memories, the job was still important for Brig. Gen. Raduege’s father and he spent a lot of time away on the job, but always included them when he could while he was home.
“You [had] always done a remarkable job of including us in the work that you [did]. Sometimes that meant dinner conversations where we would have military family, friends, and coworkers that you and mom would have over,” said Brig. Gen. Raduege. “We always had a seat at the table, a seat around the fire pit at night, where I would have an opportunity to listen to your coworkers tell stories about what was going on and how you were doing business.”
Brig. Gen. Raduege and Lt. Gen Raduege both shared many more stories about the family and we ask you listen to all of them in the above video.