Matthew T. Fritz

"Hope creates insight. Insight builds Confidence. Lead with confidence! -Matthew T. Fritz @fritzmt #AdvancedVectors

The lengths I’ll go to in order to rid my back yard of grackles… Every year during hatching season, they absolutely destroy my pool area with their “little bomblets.” …Not this year…I’m taking deterrence up a notch early!

@DHSgov Crazy to see politicians play games with American’s livelihoods and paychecks. x.com/fritzmt/status…

LINES JUST KEEP GETTING LONGER. The American People are paying the price for the Democrats’ DHS shutdown. REOPEN DHS NOW.

@RonDeSantis @StlMagnolia1 Had a loaded gun stopped in a passenger carryon at the small airport near me just this morning. Sounds like value to me!

Is there evidence that creating TSA has made air travel safer over the past 25 years? If not, then why not let the airlines and airports handle it? Why give politicians the power to play games with the travel of our people?

Chuck Norris didn’t pass away. Time just decided it couldn’t keep up anymore. RIP to an Air Force veteran and a larger-than-life American original. Some guys play heroes. Chuck Norris showed up as one long before Hollywood noticed. #ChuckNorris #RIPChuckNorris #AirForce #Veteran

Government shutdowns get framed as strategy. For federal workers, they are a missed paycheck. The job does not stop. TSA, military, law enforcement, public health, air traffic control. They still show up, still carry the responsibility, still serve. The pay stops. I hear it all the time: “They will get back pay.” Maybe. Usually. But that does not cover rent due now. Groceries today. Prescriptions this week. Credit cards and utilities that do not wait. And think about what we are actually asking of people. “Come to work. Do your job. If you do not, you could be fired. But we are not going to pay you right now.” That would not fly in almost any other profession. This is not about politics or taking sides. Budget debates are complex, and that is not my lane. But the consequences are real, and they land on people who had nothing to do with the disagreement. Federal workers are not leverage. They are people doing their jobs. We depend on them every day. The system should not depend on them absorbing the cost when it breaks. #GovernmentShutdown #FederalEmployees #PublicService #EssentialWorkers #SupportFederalWorkers #RespectTheWork #PayOurWorkers #KeepGovernmentRunning

The latest updates coming in via CENTCOM are sad. As someone who spent many years in the KC-135 community, my heart breaks for these crews, their families, and their squadrons. Tanker crews quietly enable almost every mission in the sky. Today we remember the cost of that work. Prayers for the fallen, the survivors, their squadron mates, friends, leaders and especially the families involved. #KC135 #USAF #Airmen

Crew reports are still emerging about the loss of a KC-135 supporting operations in the Middle East today. As a former KC-135 pilot, this one hits close to home. Tanker crews launch every day into complex, demanding missions that most people will never see or fully understand. The margins can be thin, and the responsibility is immense. Tonight I am thinking about the crew, their families, and the units waiting for answers. Praying for them all. #USAF #KC135 #Airmen

@keller190669 @Granite_Stater1 No ejection capability, and the bailout option ended when parachutes were removed from regular operations many years ago.

@fritzmt @Granite_Stater1 How many pilots ? Do they have ejection seats ? 🙏🇺🇸

@takebackUSA24 Bailout hasn’t been an option on the KC-135 for many years, since the parachutes were removed for various reasons.

@fritzmt Please, God, let them have bailed out safely!!!

Respectfully, that is not the reality I experienced in 26 years of service. The vast majority of people I served with were not there because they had “no better choice.” They chose to serve. Most had college degrees and could have pursued lucrative careers elsewhere. Military service is a choice. A serious one. And most of the people who make it do so because they believe in service, leadership, and responsibility, not because they ran out of options. Reducing military service to a last-resort job misunderstands the people who wear the uniform. The idea that military service is just a last resort for people who had nowhere else to go says more about the person saying it than the people in uniform.

Most are "volunteers" because they had no better choice, or saw to good alternatives. This is due to how the USA works. Instead of investing in our people, the government tries to play world police or prioritizes many alternative options over investing in the people. They TAKE our hard-earning money and use it for this other stuff. They pull at your patriotic heart, and your patriotic heart will follow. The patriotic heart also rips others for not being what you'd call "patriotic". That said, our soldiers deserve to be fed the best we can feed them and I don't share others opinion or outrage.

I am watching the outrage cycle online about the Department of War spending money on food for deployed troops. The headlines are written to provoke a reaction. “$6.9M for lobster tail.” “$2M for king crab.” “$15M for ribeye.” “$124K for ice cream machines.” To someone outside the military, that sounds outrageous. To someone who spent 26 years in uniform and deployed eleven times, it sounds like a misunderstanding of how the military actually feeds people in combat zones. Those numbers are not a fancy dinner for generals. They are bulk purchases spread across thousands of service members, across multiple locations, over long periods of time. What shows up on the plate is not surf-and-turf from a steakhouse. It is usually overcooked steak, rubbery seafood, and occasionally an ice cream machine in the corner of a dusty dining facility. And for troops living in tents, working long shifts, and operating in combat environments, that small morale boost matters. The part that bothers me is not criticism of government spending. Scrutiny is healthy. What bothers me is the growing gap between the civilian class and the warrior class. A shrinking percentage of Americans serve. Increasingly, the people in uniform are the sons and daughters of those who served before them. For many families, military service has quietly become a generational profession. Meanwhile, people who will never deploy, never carry the responsibility of war, and never send their kids into it, feel comfortable mocking the food provided to those who do. The same people will often say “thank you for your service.” But the tone changes when the subject turns to whether the people doing that service are allowed a halfway decent meal. If you want to debate defense spending, fine. That conversation is worth having. Just remember who you are talking about. These are not politicians. These are young Americans who volunteered to go where the nation sends them. #MilitaryLife #SupportTheTroops #VeteransVoice #Perspective

Phenomenal insights gained via @C3AI this week at #C3Transform. Enjoyed my fellow crowd member’s thoughts and collaboration, plus I was educated and informed by the speakers and hands-on opportunities. Bravo!

@MCCCANM So sorry to hear this…condolences to you and your family.

Deanna Evans, 46, passed away Tuesday after a lengthy battle w/ cancer. She leaves a son, 12. She wouldn’t want you to be sad. She’d want you to try that Michelin restaurant & order a Negroni. I loved her. She deserved more life & has taken most of my heart with her.

The new National Defense Strategy makes one thing clear: advantage will come less from platforms alone, and more from how fast we integrate people, data, and capability across domains. Speed of learning is becoming a form of deterrence. For those of us working in defense innovation, training, and mission systems, the message is unmistakable. Readiness is no longer a static state. It is a continuously updated competitive edge. Strategy is shifting from “owning capability” to “adapting capability.” The industrial base that understands that shift will matter most in the years ahead. #NationalSecurity #DefenseStrategy #DoD

Thank you for this action and attention to a continual bleed that has plagued our military servicemembers. After 26 years of service and 13 military-managed moves, I can count on one hand how many were relatively trouble free. A couch delivered without cushions, heirlooms broken with no recompense, and family member’s items destroyed without remorse. Grateful to see some attention being paid to this challenge for our military members and their families.

PCS was broken—We fixed it. We listened to warfighters, removed failed leadership, and built a permanent solution.

Space Industry Days (Los Angeles) opened strong this morning. Theme: “Lethality and Deterrence in Space: Unleashing the Industrial Base.” Big takeaway already: Space superiority is no longer a niche mission. It is an operational requirement, and the industrial base has to move at operational speed. #SpaceForce #NationalSecurity #Space

Holding Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and her loved ones close in thought. She stood her post, carried out her duty, & paid the ultimate price. Her loss demands accountability, and her legacy deserves honor. May she rest in peace, & may we prove ourselves worthy of what she gave.

Happy Thanksgiving from Waikiki. After thirty years hosting a full house every November, Stacy & I decided to change the pattern this year & take a breather. A quiet morning, an open horizon, & a reminder that gratitude feels different when you slow down long enough to notice it.

Views tonight on Thanksgiving Eve. #WaikikiVibes