Twenty years Air Force, then another 20 years working for the company I work for. He was also democratically elected president of the Union local by a landslide (this in a local that was 90% white males).
Back in the 60s I guess it was, when blacks were finally allowed to register to vote in Mississippi, he wanted to register as a democrat, but when he went to do so, they refused to accept his registration!
So he went to the Republicans and registered with them.
And Condi likes to say, "If the Republicans were good enough for my father, they're good enough for me!"