By Master Sgt. Scott King
40th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs |
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, April 6, 2006 — Reaching milestones is not uncommon in the Air Force, but some milestones are harder to reach than others.
In September 1987, he first strapped himself into the B-52. Nineteen years later, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, he realized his goal of reaching 5,000 flying hours as an aircraft commander.
Lt. Col. Larry Littrell, deployed to a forward operating location with the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, attributes this success to staying power.
“To give you an idea of how hard it is to reach 5,000 hours, I have never left the cockpit of the B-52,” he said. “My first Air Force assignment was to the BUFF, and I have been flying it ever since.”
According to Air Force records, he is now one of three current, (B-52 specific), Air Force crew members to reach this milestone.
Reaching 5,000 hours in a particular airframe means that pilots have been in the trenches flying long after most pilots have moved on. It is a tough milestone to achieve for many reasons.
“We don’t fly the 10-12 hour training missions like we used to,” Littrell said. “The average sortie duration back home (Barksdale Air Force Base, La.) is now 6-7 hours. If you fly four of those a month, you only get 24-28 hours. If you factor in leaves and TDYs, averaging 300 hours a year has become harder.”
For the last several years, his flying hours in the Stratofortress have remained pretty steady.
“We try to average about 300 flying hours a year. Doing the math, it takes about 17 years of flying to reach the 5,000 hour milestone,” he said. |
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“Most folks will do at least two non-flying staff tours in their career so the average officer won’t fly more than 14 years in a 20-year career. As you get older and move up in rank you don’t fly as much either, so most Air Force pilots might reach the 4,000-hour mark before they call it quits.”
Fighting the global war on terrorism is heartfelt for this seasoned pilot.
“I think our role in Afghanistan brings the GWOT fight to their home turf instead of on the streets of Hometown USA,” he said. “I was flying for a commercial airline on Sept. 11, and decided to return to active duty after the attacks on our nation.”
He was at the controls of a B-52 during the first wave of the bombing campaign in Afghanistan in October 2001.
“I am part of this fight,” he said. “Al Qaeda and Taliban need to go away and since you can’t change the way they think, you have to do it the old fashioned way. As B-52 aircrew, we have the responsibility to provide close air support for our troops on the ground. They are in harm’s way every day, and for them to know that a B-52 is only minutes away, poised to support them with massive firepower, should give them a piece of mind that America hasn’t forgotten them, and nothing shows resolve better than a 2,000-pound JDAM bomb.”
Littrell joins Maj. Eric Johnson, another 20th EBS pilot deployed here, in reaching 5,000 hours.
Johnson reached his 5,000 mark flying combat missions here in 2002. He now has more than 6,300 B-52 flying hours under his belt.“I’m proud of my counterpart for joining our small league of current BUFF pilots to reach this milestone,” Johnson said. “Doing what we do for the people of Afghanistan is extremely important – we have become very good at winning wars, but winning the peace will be an even greater feat.” |
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