Photo By Samuel King Jr. | Capt. Pat Taylor, Maj. Michael Black and Capt. Kris Williams, 919th Special Operations...... read more read more
From the backseat to the front and from stripes to bars and beyond. That’s the dual Air Force path a few 919th Special Operations Wing officers took to achieve their life-long goal of flight.
For former loadmasters, Lt. Col. Michael Black, Capts Kris Williams and Patrick Taylor, 919th Special Operations Group, each Airman’s path to the pilot seat was slightly different. What was the same was the support they received with each step along the path and the open sky goal they reached by the end.
Here at the Reserve wing, an aircraft does not leave the ground without a loadmaster. For enlisted members, it is a guaranteed aircrew position, meaning if the Airmen complete the training, they will fly. The job description is right in the title… Master of the aircraft’s load. The Airmen are responsible for properly loading, securing and escorting all cargo and passengers on their aircraft.
The flight hours and hands-on operational experience gained by these Airmen became invaluable as they transitioned into their current front seat roles.
“As a young captain in charge of an aircraft, crew, formation and mission, it can be overwhelming,” said Capt. Kris Williams, a 36-year-old Crestview native who began the pilot transition in 2007. “Had we not had that prior experience as aircrew members, it would’ve been much more difficult. It helps a lot understanding that crew concept.”
For Taylor, 859th Special Operations Squadron, he said without the loadmaster background he believes he wouldn’t have been selected for pilot training.
But how is the transition made? Is there a clear path from the backseat to the front? According to Black, the process is ever-changing.
In the 18 years between the time the three officers began and completed the pilot transition, requirements, qualifications and processes all changed, sometimes radically. The decision however, ultimately came down to the officer board at Air Force Reserve Command. An Airman’s selection package is put forth by the squadron and wing. Then the selectee waits for the results. Once chosen by the command, the stripes to bars transition truly begins.
The three officers agreed to reach the transition point took tremendous focus to keep that flying goal in sight.
“As a loadmaster, after you meet your qualifications and find the rhythms of the job, you do find a comfort zone,” said Taylor, who began the pilot transition in 2012 and now flies the C-146 Wolfhound. “You are so settled and that goal seems so far away. It takes a lot of determination to continue forward.”
Taylor added it helped to have wingmen continuously pushing and checking up on his progress.
“A (previously transitioned) officer would drop off his ranks at my desk each time he moved up to motivate me,” said the 33-year-old, 13-year veteran from Pace.
After being selected for officer training school and pilot training, the next hurdle they encountered was the idea of basically beginning their military career over again.
To begin the transition, the first big step is essentially after four to six years in the Air Force, an Airman agrees to drop all rank and complete a form of basic military training again.
“We were all warned the hardest part would be starting over,” said Black, a 22-year veteran, who followed his father and step-brother into the 919th SOW.
Along with having their ranks, experience and knowledge swept away in the training environment, the officers admitted they felt the added pressure of expectations from those wingmen that helped them reach that point.
“It was a self-imposed anxiety,” said Black, 5th Special Operations Squadron. “The last thing I wanted to do was fail or let them down.”
After OTS, each began approximately two years of pilot training and qualification. Being a reservist, made the initial training slightly less stressful because the Airmen already knew where their next assignment was and what aircraft they would be flying.
“Having that knowledge alleviated the extra performance pressure to earn a specific aircraft type,” said Black, now an evaluator pilot and combat aviation advisor.
As they progressed through their training, their view and understanding of the operational flying mission grew.
“As a loadmaster, you have some awareness of the overall mission, but that’s just a small part,” said Williams, who served as a loadmaster for Black, as a pilot, in the MC-130 P Shadow. “As a pilot, that mission and duty multiplies to include aircraft, aircrew, formations and much more. And if you are the aircraft commander for the mission you are responsible for it all.”
All three acknowledged having that backseat knowledge and experience made them better pilots and aircraft commanders.
“It helps with control of the aircraft,” said Black, who flew multiple C-130 models and now the C-145 Skytruck during his career with the 919th SOW. “Our situational awareness based on the understanding of what is happening in the back allows us to communicate better and provide a smoother flight for the aircrew.”
Now as pilots and aircraft commanders, they are viewed as leaders. None of them had much experience in leadership as loadmasters, but what they did have was the vast experience of good and bad flights to draw upon.
“We had to develop those leadership traits quickly, because suddenly, we were the ones everyone turned to for decisions,” said Williams, a 17-year veteran with the 711th Special Operations Wing. “As loadmasters, we saw the best and worst examples of aircraft leadership and communication. Now, those experiences factor into how we lead the mission.”
The path to the sky is challenging for any enlisted Airman fresh from High School. Starting as enlisted, the three reservists agreed the long-term goal had to be the focus and remain a high priority in life or it will never be reached. They also added once that front seat goal was reached, they all agreed it was worth the struggle.
For a year, Taylor took 18 college credits, worked 30 hours a week as a loadmaster, spent 35 hours per week at a civilian job and also had family commitments on his journey to meet the officer qualifying requirements. He frequently told his spouse, “eventually, it will be worth it.”
He said the same thing to her through many moves while completing OTS and pilot training. Finally, while looking for a permanent new home, he was able to say yes to her “dream home.”
“At that moment, it all became worth it,” he said.
On that same topic, Williams added he’s asked often… would he do it all over again.
“Was it worth it? Yes. Was it hard? Yes? Would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2016 10:27 |
| Story ID: | 210999 |
| Location: | DUKE FIELD, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 688 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Enlisted aircrew members make move to pilot seat, by Samuel King Jr., identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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