Hockey turned out to be an ideal training ground for Buck Kozlowski. The preparation he got at Air Force Academy helped the 2004 graduate launch into a successful military career.
Kozlowski, who was a 2003-04 CHA Academic All-Conference pick for the Falcons, is stationed at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, one of three Air Force logistics centers. His day job is piloting V-22 Ospreys, a multi-mission, tiltrotor aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing and short takeoff and landing capabilities. It’s considered one of the more difficult aircraft to fly.
The former Falcons defenseman said his time at the Academy prepared him well for the challenges he faces 13-plus years later during a conversation with The Flight Path.
Buck Kozlowski was an All-CHA Academic team pick in 2004. Photo courtesy of Air Force Athletics.
How did you find yourself playing hockey at Air Force?
It was kind of a strange path. I went to a college fair with my dad. He was telling me to go talk to the Air Force guys, the Army guys, the Navy guys. To be honest with you, I looked at him like he was nuts. I’m not doing that. But I went and talked to them and I was intrigued. So I applied and got in, and unbeknownst to me a coach that had drafted me for a junior team that I didn’t go play for had played for Frank. He made a phone call on my behalf and let him know I’d been accepted to the Academy. Based on that Derek Schooley, who’s now coaching at Robert Morris, came out and watched me play in a showcase and told me they’d give me a shot. It wasn’t a guarantee by any means, but it was an opportunity. So I decided to come here and give it a go, and here we are.
How did the time at the Academy prepare you for what you’re doing now?
It was good. It’s not necessarily a fun experience all the time, but the one thing you learn is time management. That’s really valuable. Doing what I do now, it’s busy, you’ve to prioritize and figure out what’s the most important thing to do right now. You do that and then you move down the list and take care of what’s next. It’s definitely a product of having lived here four years and going through the Academy.
Some alumni have told me the camaraderie with hockey and Academy life really prepared them well for service and for being a pilot. Have you found that to be true as well?
Absolutely. Being on a hockey team, I don’t know any different. I’ve never been on a football team. A hockey team, you’ve got 25 guys who are all in. My experience in the military has been kind of similar. I’ve been in flying squadrons where you find that same thing, you get that singular focus, and if it’s done right you can be very successful. It’s the exact same mindset – this is the goal, we’re all going toward it, and we’re all going to make each other better along the way. It applies to hockey, it applies to flying, it applies to just the military in general. It’s very good preparation.
What are some of the direct parallels between your hockey experience and the military?
It’s team building, just getting guys on board. How do you do that? What I learned through hockey is you can talk all you want, but everybody respects the guy who goes out and does it, goes out and blocks a shot, goes out and takes a big hit to make a play. The physical thing might not be there in a flying squadron, but the attitude certainly is. The guy that’s willing to go put the work in, and the guy that’s willing to be there when things get tough, that’s the guy people look up to. That’s the guy that people gravitate toward. I think hockey is a really good way to prepare for a military career in that sense. You know what the key ingredients are to get guys to have a singular focus and go get a job done.
Buck Kozlowski was a steady defenseman for the Falcons. Photo courtesy of Matthew Staver and Air Force Athletics
The camaraderie among the Falcons hockey alumni seems particularly strong. Why is that?
There’s a bond here. It’s kind of funny. You walk into the locker room (before the alumni game), and it’s like we never left. Guys I hadn’t even met before, it’s a hockey locker room and everyone knows how to behave in a hockey locker room. There’s a common understanding. We all played in this rink, we all had a similar experience. There’s that underlying bond that’s strong. It’s underlined by the fact it’s at a military academy. You played college hockey but you did it in this environment, which is very unique. It’s great to see everybody here, guys I played with but also guys I hadn’t. It’s kind of funny. Everyone has similar personalities.
And many of you also have the common experience of playing for Coach Serratore.
I’ll be forever grateful to Frank for giving me an opportunity. … I wasn’t a highly recruited guy. He took a chance on me when I didn’t have a whole lot of other ones. I remember that. That’s important to me. He’s going to work you. He’s an intense guy. But it’s good. He’s going to push the guys. We all kind of laugh about it because everybody’s got a story – and they’re all pretty funny. It’s one of those things if you know Frank, it’s an experience being around him. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Please check out the Flight Path’s previous alumni updates
On Lieutenant Colonel Scott Bradley
On Brigadier General Kevin McManaman
On Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Kurt Rohloff
On Tom Starkey
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