Mike Dryden

Mike Dryden was born in Monroe County, Mississippi in the late forties. He graduated from Amory High School in the sixties and Mississippi State University with a BS in Education. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the US Army and attended Rotary Wing Qualification School. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky as a helicopter pilot and aviation logistic maintenance officer. He left active duty and continued his military career until 1998 when he retired as a Major. He worked in a variety of jobs ranging from test pilot to ad salesperson until his retirement. He received a Master of Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is a dual rated instrument commercial pilot. He has worked in both secondary and adult education fields in Alaska for the past fourteen years. He served as public affairs officer for the Alaska Wing Civil Air Patrol, editor of the Alaska CAP Wing Tips magazine and a mission pilot on search and rescue missions.  He presently serves on the board of the Older Person Action Group and writes a monthly article on veterans' health care issues in the Senior Voice newspaper. He also has contributed to the Stars and Stripes Alaska military newspaper on a broad range of subjects. His latest articles include a series about the contributions of the black soldiers during World War ll and the construction of the Alaska Highway. He is a volunteer for the State of Alaska Long-Term Care Ombudsman program where he advocates senior citizens rights residing in elder care facilities. He spends his spare time flying, traveling and writing fiction and non-fiction works.