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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, January 6, 2015
Fighter pilot becomes preacher
Leptondale Bible Church welcomes new pastor
By RACHEL COLEMAN
The journey from fighter pilot to shepherd of a local
church is, as most would suspect, a long one—and the
singular story of
retired Colonel
Mike O’Dowd,
the new pastor
of Leptondale
Bible Church in
Newburgh.
Saving
the
details no doubt
for his sermons,
Pastor
Mike
O’Dowd simply
said that becoming a pastor was
something God
had been leading him to do for
a long time. He
didn’t pursue it
however, until
Retired Colonel Mike O’Dowd is the new
after concludpastor of Leptondale Bible Church
ing 24 years of
service in the
United States Air Force. During that time, he was primarily an A-10 pilot, serving in seven combat deployments between 1990 and 2009, in support of Operations
Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Iraqi
Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
When asked if he had always wanted to be a fighter
pilot, he answered, “Oh, yeah. From a very early age.”
O’Dowd began flight training in 1985 and he said it was
three long years before he reached the lowest level to
qualify him to sit in the pilot’s seat. It was several more
before he reached the level of instructor.
O’Dowd finished his military career as the commander
of the 23rd Fighter Group—the renowned Flying Tigers
of WWII fame—retiring at the grade of Colonel at Moody
Air Force Base in January 2010.
That same month, he began his formal preparation
for ministry. He graduated with a Master’s degree in
Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary this past
fall.
Now at the helm of Leptondale Bible Church, O’Dowd
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said as pastor he will bring the sum of his life experiences, including his military background.
“I understand the concept of a mission and the work
of leading an organization that has a mission and how
to focus on it and accomplish it,” said O’Dowd, adding
that his experiences and things he has learned along the
way will help him to understand and care for those in his
church and c