Brigadier General Robert Claude, left, and Brigadier General Randy Oakland, right, both grew up in Faribault County and graduated from high school in Blue Earth. Their parents were good friends and the families attended the same church in rural Blue Earth.

Becoming a general in any branch of the United States Armed forces is a rare feat.

Maj. Gen. Craig Wills, while officiating at a pinning on ceremony for an Air Force general, shared these statistics.

“Only one in 300 Air Force officers will become a general,” Wills noted. “One half of one percent of colonels will make the cut and become a general. The Air Force promotes about 30 officers to general each year.”

The total number of generals allowed in the Air Force is capped at 198 and currently there are about 180 generals in the U.S. Air Force.

Two of those generals happen to be from Faribault County. They both graduated from the high school in Blue Earth and they both attended Immanuel Lutheran Church located east of Blue Earth.

Brigadier General Robert Claude and Brigadier General Randy Oakland were each nominated for their promotion by President Donald Trump in early January of 2021 and were later confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Claude serves as a general in the Air Force Reserve and is the Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Operations, Training and Force Development at U.S. Space Command, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.

Oakland is the director of Operations and Communications, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.

Claude, who graduated from Blue Earth-Frost in 1987 and Oakland, a 1992 graduate of Blue Earth Area used to hunt and fish together as youngsters.

“We went to the same church and our parents were good friends,” Claude explains. “Our dads loved to hunt and fish so we tagged along.”

Because of their age difference, Oakland shares it wasn’t like the two young boys were best friends.

“What I remember about Bob as a kid was that he was very even-keeled,” Oakland comments. “He had a good sense of humor and was easy to get along with when our families got together.”

Though the two men each ascended to the rank of general, their paths were quite different.

“I went to St. Thomas on an ROTC scholarship and majored in computer science,” Claude says. “I was looking for a way to make my education affordable.”

While achieving his bachelor’s degree in computer science and quantitative methods, Claude met his future wife, Beth Higbie, who was attending Hamline University on an ROTC scholarship.

The couple was married in 1991, the same year they each graduated from college.

“Beth went on active duty at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, while I was on active duty at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado,” Claude comments.

He shares his training was in space operations.

“It is a very broad career field,” Claude explains. “For me, it meant operating satellite systems and checking the health of the satellites.”

Claude was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1993 and Captain in 1995.

“I decided to separate from active duty in March of 2000 and entered the Air Force Reserves where I essentially did the same job, just in a different capacity, as a reservist,” he says.

While working under a contract for the National Security Agency (NSA) in Washington D.C., he was promoted to Major.

“I had to balance working for both the NSA while still making sure I got the required number of hours served as a reservist,” Claude shares.

His next promotion would be in 2007 when he became a Lieutenant Colonel.

“I was based in Colorado at the time and had moved there in 2003,” he comments. “Beth and I felt it was a better place to raise our family, which now consisted of two children.”

He had many assignments in the 310th Space Wing beginning in 2003.

“The highlight for me was when I became squadron commander of the 380th Space Control Squadron in June of 2011,” Claude adds.

In October of 2012, he was promoted to Colonel.

“With the promotion came another assignment. It was very hard for me to give up my squadron command,” he says. “My next stop was the headquarters of the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.”

Claude explains most of what he does in his job is classified information.

Meanwhile, Oakland’s career in the Air Force began after his graduation in 1992 from Blue Earth Area High School with an appointment to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado by then U.S. Representative Vin Weber.

“I knew I wanted to fly fighter airplanes and I figured my best chance to be able to do that was at the Air Force Academy,” Oakland says.

He graduated from the academy in 1996 and married his high school sweetheart, Christy (Huber) Oakland, that same year.

The graduates from the Air Force Academy choose the aircraft they want to fly according to their rank in their class.

“I was not the top student, but when my name came up their was still an F-15 available,” Oakland comments.

He shares the reasons which led him to select the F-15.

“When I was getting my assignment in pilot training, the Air Force was working on the F-22. At the time, the F-22 was thought to be taking the place of the F-15,” Oakland explains. “So, I felt going with the F-15 would also provide me the best opportunity to fly an F-22.”

However, the prospect of flying an F-22 was not the only reason for Oakland’s decision to select the F-15.

“I enjoyed the mission of the F-15, which is air-to-air combat, as opposed to dropping bombs or flying low level (close to the ground) missions,” he says. “The nickname for the F-15 is the ‘World’s Greatest Air Superiority Fighter.’ It has never been shot down in aerial combat. And, as far as modern aircraft go, it has shot down more enemy planes than any other aircraft.”

Oakland’s first deployment was to Turkey to take part in operation Northern Watch in the fall of 2000, after Desert Storm.

Oakland was based at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia during the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

“I was actually scheduled to fly out of Virginia on a commercial flight for a temporary duty assignment, but the trip was cancelled,” he shares. “I ended up sticking around Langley to fly missions in defense of the homeland for Operation Noble Eagle.”

It was not an easy time.

“Overall, the country was in a certain state of mind. The U.S. had clearly been attacked on our homeland,” he offers. “I wanted to do my part to defend my country. But, unfortunately that could mean having to shoot down a commercial airliner. That meant that we (the Air Force) needed very clear rules of engagement. Great effort was made in how this would be done. Fortunately, the order to shoot down an airliner was never given.”

Oakland flew his last flight in an F-15 in June of 2008.

“It was due to a change in a phase of my military career,” he says.

In the summer of 2010, he deployed to Baghdad, Iraq as a staff officer to take part in what was initially called Iraqi Freedom before it transitioned to Operation New Dawn, which was a transition to a strategic partnership with the nation of Iraq.

Like his childhood acquaintance, Oakland continued to climb the ranks in the Air Force.

Both servicemen continued to further their education and training in the service.

At Oakland’s ceremony where he became a general, Maj. Gen. Wills made the statement, “We serve as a family.”

It is a statement both Claude and Oakland agree with.

Each of them are quick to praise their families for the sacrifices they have had to make along the way and say the dedication of their wives has been one of the keys to their success.

Each of the couples have two children.

“My wife and I have a daughter Alexandra who is married to Jarred and both are members of the Air Force. They have one son,” Claude says. “Our son, Andrew, attends Texas A & M and will graduate in May and be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force.”

The Oaklands have two sons.

“Our older son, Matthew, is a sophomore at Texas A & M,” Oakland comments. “Our younger son, Samuel, is a sophomore at Randolph High School in San Antonio.”

Both men were confirmed for their promotion to general by the U.S. Senate within weeks of each other. However, while, Claude received his promotion very quickly, Oakland had to wait about a year and a half to receive his.

“That is just the way it is in the Air Force Reserves,” Claude explains. “We promote slower but put the rank on faster.

So what is it about these two servicemen that put them on the path to becoming generals?

Wills gives some insight into the answer to that question.

“We look for people who have certain characteristics such as humility and kindness. We desire people who are slow to anger and are hardworking,” he explains. “We look for people who have the courage to push hard and push back. There is a value to people who will tell you when you are wrong.”

Finally, Wills shares what is expected of those who earn the rank of general.

“They are to solve problems that others cannot, either through their intellect or their hard work,” he states. “They are also charged with tackling the problems others will not.”

Both men reflected on their careers in the Air Force.

“When I began this journey, it was a means to get a college education,” Claude comments. “However, I quickly found out it was a part of being something bigger than myself. My father was in the military and the American Legion. I was in the Scouts. It is a way to give back and I enjoy the opportunities I have had to make a difference.”

And, what has it meant to Oakland to be able to serve in the Air Force?

“What I found is the reason you started doesn’t always match the reason you stay,” he explains. “For me, it is part of a calling. It is not only the defense of our country, it is serving my fellow members of the Air Force. We are all part of an all-volunteer force. I enjoy my job and do not know where I could get a job where I can serve with the kind of people I get to serve with.”