I wish him the very best, and thank him for serving!
As a former airman myself, let me say he'll fit right in.
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.
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?
Prayers up for Adam. Sounds like a solid young man. Many blessings for him and your family.
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.
God bless him.