Winds Beneath My Wings: Lessons from a Life of Accidental Careers, Unexpected Consequences, and Otherwise Great Good Fortune

Royce Moser, Jr., M.D., dreamed of being an Air Force pilot during his boyhood in World War II. Although his vision would disqualify him in that role, dreams as potent as his didn't fade away; they found another way. At Harvard Medical School, owing to a fortuitous meeting with Dr. Ross McFarland, one of the "fathers" of aerospace medicine, Moser pursued a future as a flight surgeon. His first "accidental" career spanned twenty-three years in the Air Force, including tours of duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War, as well as during the Cold War at the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Having found another way into the skies, he accumulated over two thousand flight hours in more than thirty types of aircraft, including the F-106, which took him faster than the speed of sound. In 1985, having retired as a decorated USAF colonel and Commander of the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, he began his second "accidental career" at the University of Utah, serving as a professor and in several management positions in the areas of preventive medicine, occupational medicine, and worker safety and health. His textbook, The Effective Management of Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Programs: A Practical Guide, is now in its third edition.