Growing up in the oil fields of California, East and West Texas, John Witzel graduated from Louisiana Tech University and was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force as a Navigator and served in various assignments to including as a volunteer in the Iranian Rescue Attempt in 1980.  Appointed and served as the Director of the Strategic Air Command Airborne Command Post and later was assigned as commander of a United Nations Peacekeeper unit in Haiti.  Witzel retired as a Lt. Colonel after 22 years of service.  Following the service, he served as an accountant at a national bank and was subsequently asked to return to the military as a defense contractor.  Witzel served for 14 years as a local school board member and is currently President of the Nebraska State Board of Education and served as President of the Board of Directors for the Sarpy Community YMCA.

Education includes degrees from Louisiana Tech U., Ball State U., and Bellevue U.  He also earned a certificate from the Spanish Language Institute, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
 

Active member with the Nat’l School Board Association, Nebraska Association of School Boards, YMCA, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Bellevue U. Legacy Foundation, Offutt AFB Advisory Council, Lions Club, Shriners and the Nebraska Writer’s Guild.
 

A nationally noted author, Witzel has published three books, Saving Tres Rios, Saving Vengeance, and Saving Bonnie, about an Air Force Sergeant who retires and becomes a public-school teacher.