Cross & Crescent

Steve Moody (Arizona State 1976) vividly recalls the day he met Rusty Findley (Arizona State 1976) at the front door of the chapter house.

Moody pledged Lambda Chi during the summer and was working his first recruitment event that fall. The front door of the chapter house opened and Findley, along with another rushee, came walking in.

“As I looked at both of them, I took the other guy,” Moody says about the two rushees. “Rusty looked like he was 10 years old and I thought he would never make it. Boy was I wrong. Rusty became a true leader in the house and was the guy everyone went to if they had a problem with anything.”

Whenever Moody and Findley get together, Findley usually repeats that story — so often that even their children know it.

Little did Moody or anyone else know at the time that Findley would eventually work his way up the military ranks to become a major general and the director of strategy, plans, and policy for the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

USCENTCOM is one of the five geographically defined unified commands within the U.S. Department of Defense. It is the authority for the U.S. military’s activities in 27 countries, including both Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

As major general, Findley is responsible for preparing and maintaining bilateral and multilateral operations as well as contingency plans. He reports directly to Gen. John P. Abizaid, U.S. Army Commander, USCENTCOM.

“To understand what’s going on in the region, you have to spend time in the region,” says Findley, speaking from Qatar.

In order to meet with the leaders from the Middle East and other nations, Findley frequently commutes between MacDill Air Force base in Florida and the U.S. military base in Qatar.

World Traveler

Growing up, Findley frequently moved around the world as his dad was in the U.S. Air Force. During high school he spent a year in Texas, another in the Philippines, and the rest of high school in Hawaii.

Findley was a star athlete in high school and had a passion for baseball. He had visions of playing for Arizona State as they were a baseball powerhouse.

Unfortunately, their reputation also meant they had an unbelievable number of top prospects, so Findley’s chances were slim.

After graduating from high school at 17, Findley chose Arizona State so he could remain in close proximity to his parents who had decided to retire in California. It also allowed him to take advantage of his ROTC scholarship.

“I wanted to be close enough but far enough away,” he says.

Pledging Lambda Chi

When Findley arrived at Arizona State he decided to investigate joining a fraternity, for rush began immediately after he arrived.

Findley liked the Lambda Chis he met and decided to join the chapter, moving into the house his first semester.

“We had a small pledge class, but the house boomed in numbers after that,” he says.

Not surprisingly, Findley took on several leadership roles at the chapter, serving as chairman, treasurer, and ritualist.

“I have very vivid memories of the ritual,” he says. “I remember it as something you really wanted.”

After several very large recruiting classes, Findley learned an important lesson that he brought with him into the military.

“We had a lot of people versus having a team,” he says. “I call a fraternity a team. And that’s something I’ve taken forward with me. I realized then that we wanted quality (not just quantity).”

Findley credits his early leadership opportunities with the Fraternity for helping him develop his military philosophies.

“College for me, I learned as much outside as inside the classroom,” he says. “The fraternity was a big part of that. I learned a lot about life outside of the classroom. It helped me develop my philosophy and leadership abilities.”

Flying Airplanes

Ironically, Findley did not have a passion for flying when he was growing up, even though his dad was in the U.S. Air Force.

“I didn’t take to it initially,” he says. “I was big into other things like sports and intramurals.”

But Findley says that once he got a taste of the Air Force, it really grew on him.

Findley earned his Air Force commission in 1976 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force ROTC program at Arizona State University.

Findley is a command pilot with more than 3,700 flying hours in the KC-135, T-37, T-38, C-130, and C-17A.

Assignments and Awards

Findley quickly moved up the military ranks, becoming the commander of the 43rd Air Refueling Group, Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in July 1996.

Other senior operational positions soon followed, including commander of the 437th Airlift Wing at the Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina and commander of the 319th Air Refueling Wing at the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota.

After he was made commander of the 437th Airlift Wing in 2000, Findley’s C-17-equipped unit provided vital support to Operation Enduring Freedom, airdropping humanitarian daily rations to the people of Afghanistan on the first night of the war.

His wing also tactically inserted the first non-special forces unit into a covert dirt airfield south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. These historic combat firsts earned his unit the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device for valor.

Findley eventually became the deputy chief of staff, strategy, plans, and assessment for Operation Iraqi Freedom from Baghdad, Iraq before he assumed his current position in July 2006.

For his heroics and accomplishments, Findley has received numerous awards and commendations, including a Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Joint Meritorious Unit Award with oak leaf cluster, and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device.

Additionally, Findley was promoted to a brigadier general on October 1, 2001, and a major general on July 1, 2005.

As for his future assignments, Findley quickly and sincerely states: “I’ll go wherever they want me to go and do whatever they want me to do. That’s the way I feel about it.”

Friends for Life

Findley says the value of the relationships and friendships is what he remembers most about his days at the Lambda Chi chapter at Arizona State.

“The guys you stay in touch with, you want to stay in touch with,” he says.
“We’re kindred spirits.”

Moody looks back on his days of being around Findley and recalls how lucky the chapter was that he came through the door.

“Rusty’s strength was his belief in God,” Moody says. “And to this day I know it still is his strength. ‘Family’, ‘faith’, and ‘friends’ are words he uses every day.”

“We became best friends our senior year and to this day, we are the same,” Moody says. “Lambda Chi should be proud of Rusty and all of our successful brothers all over the world.”

“We were really fortunate that day he came through our front door and that I didn’t scare him off,” he says.