U-2 spy plane pilot to speak in Montgomery
"My 15 Years of Flying the U-2 Spy Plane" will be chronicled by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. (ret.) Vince Catich on Tuesday, March 20, in Montgomery.
Catich, of Roseville, Calif., will keynote the March meeting of Navy League Aurora Council 247 at Grandma's Table Restaurant, 1700 Douglas Ave. The public is invited.
The event will open with a reception at 5:15 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. followed by Catich's presentation.
Entree options are fish, chicken, or beef including soup or salad, dinner rolls, vegetables, dessert and nonalcoholic drink. The cost is $20. A dinner-salad entree is $12.
Catich will discuss his initial naval flying career, flying the U-2 spy plane and detail the plane and its missions. The first naval aviator to be accepted into the U-2 program, he transferred to the Air Force in 1999 to become a high-altitude reconnaissance pilot.
Catich retired from the Air Force as Director of Staff, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale AFB, California, a wing with 5,000 personnel.
Since 2013, he has flown for United Airlines as a co-pilot on the B787 Dreamliner based out of San Francisco.
Catich earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Southern Illinois University and a master's degree in Strategic Intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College, Defense Intelligence Agency.
The Navy League is a civilian organization started by President Teddy Roosevelt to provide civilian support the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, and Sea Cadets.
For information, call (630) 816-7612.