Posted on 09/20/2016 3:15:38 PM PDT by PilotDave
Nicely done and congratulations.
Funny story from way back, told to me by an old timer who graduated UF. Back in the early 60s, young men had a choice— do ROTC (UF being a land grant school) or join the Natl Guard. Well both were military, but the Guard paid, so my friend and a couple of his buddies figured they’d pick up easy money. Then the Cuban missile crisis hit and they got mobilized. Graduated a semester late. In the long run it didn’t hurt anything and makes for a great tale.
Load master’s a good choice and the golf will come in handy. Again, congrats.
Thanks everybody. I’ll be printing this out and mailing it to him when I get his training address. He’s 3rd generation USAF!
We have C-17’s flying extremely low over our roof everyday. Haven’t hit the chimney yet. Sometimes when my eyes are working I can see the rivets, and even count them as they go over. I’ll wave occasionally, but I think they are concentrating on flying that thing more than they are into sayin’ how do.
Congrats.
Congratulations to your son. Loadmaster is one of the best jobs for a young airman; lots of responsibility and a chance to see the world. And, by joining the reserves, he already knows he’ll be part of a C-17 unit, versus having to rely on the “needs of the Air Force.”
Actually, I’d argue there are no bad jobs in the loadmaster community. Those assigned to C-130 units get a lot of tactical work (dropping paratroopers and cargo) and those flying the special ops Herk platforms (MC-130, AC-130) are truly on the tip of the spear. At the other end of the spectrum, loadmasters on the C-5 get to deliver some of the biggest cargoes in DoD. Quite a responsibility for a 19 or 20-year old loadmaster to calculate weight and center-of-gravity for an M-1 tank, Navy spec ops craft, or a couple of helicopters.
The C-17 offers the best of both worlds. It can handle the big stuff, but it also works well in the tactical environment. It was a C-17 crew that delivered elements of SEAL Team 6 to the waters off Somalia to rescue the captain of the Maersk Alabama. And many C-17 missions are flown with only one loadmaster.
If your son decides to move up, he has a number of options. With his aircrew experience and general aviation training, he would be a very strong candidate for undergraduate pilot training (UPT) after completing his college degree. Or, he could become a drone pilot; the USAF is currently training its first class of enlisted drone pilots, drawn from the ranks of enlisted aircrew members.
Good luck to your son.
Awesome!
Sounds like a great opportunity, congrats.
CGato
As an old time flight instructor, I would be interested in hearing more about the twin engine solo. Flight time for a multi engine rating is all dual instruction, no solo time required. Could this just have been his first flight alone, after getting his multi engine rating?
He’s getting his initial ppl in a multi. Not gonna be rated for single engine at first. His second checkride will be combined SE add on and instrument rating.
Adam gives us all hope! Congratulaitons to Adam and the folks who raised him right.
Prayers up for Adam. Sounds like a solid young man. Many blessings for him and your family.
“Sounds like a great kid. My boy graduated basic a few weeks ago and is in Wichita Falls now.”
I did my tech school at Sheppard. Good luck to your boys.
I am not sure the Navy still has the program but in the late 1960’s a friend of my enlisted for four years. After about a year he was sent to Purdue University to study nuclear engineering. During the time he earned rank and all of his expenses were paid for. After graduation he was commissioned as an ensign. I don’t recall if he served on nuclear subs or ships but he stayed in for fifteen more years and retired after 20 years.
Need a bachelors degree to be a USAF pilot
if Trump is elected, fine and good...but if the witch is elected, don't be surprised if they have special barracks for homosexuals only and they tear down the flag on all bases...too raciss.....
I hope he doesn’t get sent to Shepherd Air Force Base in Wichita Falls.
I had the loadmaster job offered to me but went a different route.
One of the guys I came to work with 25 years later said he took that job and can proudly say he retired and visited all 7 continents.
Godspeed and Well Done.
His first tech school is basic loadmaster at Lackland. Then he’ll do C-17 loadmaster at Altus AFB ok.
I thought those had been totally replaced, one of my projects. There was political interference by the dummycrats on its replacement, so it’s no surprise. Interesting story about Cheney and the airstream. The airman ran out of RV biodegradable toilet paper and used regular, which promptly stuck to the inside top of the tank. It reeked for days and had to be disassembled. One of my crew got to wear some of Cheney, lol.
I know they had a BOOST program in the 80s, my best friend enlisted and they were paying for his engineering school while we were in college.
Yes I have heard of the Boost program. It may have had a different name in 1969.
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