Retired Lt. Col. Marshall Preston reflects on 24 years in the Air Force and urges younger veterans to join town board

Marshall Preston, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and host of the Town of Westborough’s Veterans Corner, described a 24-year military career that included assignments at Rammstein Air Base in Germany and deployments to the Middle East and South Asia.

"I was commissioned as a second lieutenant through ROTC at Duke, and the Air Force showed up with a larger scholarship and opportunity," Preston said, describing why he chose the Air Force. He recounted deployments tied to Operation Enduring Freedom and the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and said he served in a range of roles from airfield operations to a terminal instrument procedure specialist covering Latin America and the Caribbean.

Preston listed training and postings that shaped his career: a tour learning Spanish in Monterey, assignments at McDill and Travis Air Force Bases, attendance at Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, and multiple overseas tours. "There were 13 assignments," he said, summarizing a long service record that also included deployments to Saudi Arabia and work in Islamabad, Pakistan, in support of operations.

He credited the people and relationships formed in uniform for much of his decision to stay. "Two Air Force friends are down in the Delmarva area, so I tend to see them when we're back there," Preston said, naming several longtime comrades. He also shared operational anecdotes, including an incident in which a heavily loaded C‑130 suffered brake and landing-gear damage that took significant effort to return to service.

Reflecting on the role of the military in a democracy, Preston said the uniformed services try to remain nonpartisan and follow civilian leadership while preserving legal avenues to challenge unlawful orders. "We serve our civilian masters and they are elected by our people," he said. "If you don't particularly like it, get involved — vote your conscience, you communicate how it is."

Preston lives in the Town of Westborough and said those local ties matter: he cited family, community connections and the opportunity to continue serving veterans locally as reasons he remained engaged after retirement. He also encouraged younger veterans to participate in town civic life and veterans’ organizations.

The episode was conducted by a student interviewer from Westborough High School who introduced herself as Elise. Preston thanked Westborough Television for producing the program and closed by pointing viewers to the town’s veteran service officer for assistance with benefits and resources.