'Iron Man's' wingman, Terrence Howard, talks Air Force

[wackychick]

NEW YORK (AFPN) -- Air Force and Department of Defense officials agreed to highlight Air Force capabilities and Airmen to a worldwide audience in the summer blockbuster "Iron Man," primarily because the story included character Lt. Col. James Rhodes, played by Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard.

"The character of Colonel Rhodes reflects our warrior ethos and the professionalism that is so important to our Air Force culture," said Lt. Col. Stephen Clutter, the Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office director.

Mr. Howard spoke with Air Force members May 27 in New York about working and training with Airmen while researching his role for Colonel Howard, an Air Force test pilot and acquisitions officer, who is the DOD liaison to the fictional Stark Enterprises, a company that deals in cutting-edge technology for the military.

"As a civilian you have a 'me mentality,' but in the Air Force it's a 'we mentality.' Mr. Howard said. "To get out of the 'single-person place' I've been in all my life, that's a hard thing to do. To become an actor is more egocentric, so becoming part of a unit, an organization, was something I'd never experienced before."

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