Expert: James Bell - 2/18/2007

Question
Hi James. My name is Kevin and i'm only a few days from my eighteenth birthday. I enlisted in the USAF last summer and, from what i've been told and have read about, have gotten one of the best enlisted jobs out there, a Loadmaster. I'm going to basic on July 10th and i'm pretty pumped to get my life started. I've been reading your responses to many of these peoples questions all night and it's amazing to hear what i'm going to be faced with in the upcoming six years of my life. I'm curious about so many things and can read your responses all day, but the one thing that concerns me the most right now is where i'll be stationed. So my question to you is when will I know for sure where I will be stationed (in basic, in tech school, after tech school?) and which planes go to what bases? (i.e. You wrote to someone that C-5's,I think, were stationed in NJ) I'm sure you can't list all of them, but if you know of a site that could possibly list them as well that would be most helpful. Thank you for your time and insight.

Answer
Greetings Kevin -

Wow, I had no idea I had a cult following.   :-)

I forgot there was an open posting forum on AllExperts where all my previous answers could be viewed.  Sometimes it would help for me to refer to them instead of re-writing entire books.

I assume you read my response to Tyrone from 8/16/06?  I have a few sample questions about weight and balance, which will be the primary focus of your first technical training school.  If you can understand the math concepts I bring up there, you will have no problem getting through school.

Yes, you are in for an exciting time.  You will make MANY friends and tell MANY stories to your high school classmates.  I went to my 10-year high school reunion in just a business suit, but wore my Air Force uniform to my 20-year reunion.  By that time I was a TSgt flight engineer on the KC-10 and had previously flown on the C-5 and C-141.  By that time many had settled into their careers: One had gone to law school, became a lawyer and was now a judge.  Others had prospered while others seemed to just continue on doing very little as they had done in school.

Because of my uniform I attracted a lot of attention.  I had people all night talking to me about my experiences and, because I was a flyer, I had many to tell.  I had a great cross section of what many countries I had visited were like, and had many special memories from each country.  Here is one statistic that is told about high school graduates: 50% never leave the town in which they graduated.  75% never leave the state.  98% never venture outside the United States, which will put you in a very elite, select group of graduates.

But, you didn't ask for me to reminisce about my past.  Here is a quick breakdown on where some of the major planes are stationed that you could possibly be assigned to:

C-5 - Travis AFB, CA and Dover AFB, DE (training at Altus AFB, OK)

C-17 - Travis AFB, CA, McChord AFB, WA, McGuire AFB, NJ, Charleston AFB, SC (training also at Altus AFB, OK)

C-130 - Anywhere in the world where they can make a runway (asphalt, cement or dirt).  The primary U. S. bases are Pope AFB, NC, Moody AFB, GE, Dyess AFB, TX and Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.  Training is at Littlerock AFB, AR although they also have regular squadrons their as well.  The C-130 is the only plane that is permanently assigned outside CONUS (Continental United States).  Pick a country: Japan, Germany, Turkey, England, Spain (Azores islands), Okinawa, Alaska (non-CONUS).  The list goes on and on.  My father, Captain J. David Bell, incidentally, was the Test Director for the HC-130H program, where they tested the Fulton Recovery System back in 1966.

Don't rule out the possibility of specialty aircraft, such as the AC-130 Gunship (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/ac-130.htm).  John Levitow, received the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War for his actions as a loadmaster onboard an AC-47 gunship.

Where you are assigned depends on two things: Your "dream sheet" and the needs of the Air Force.  I don't remember the official name or form number of the "dream sheet", but it is something like your Base of Preference form.  You will fill it out during Basic Training at Lackland AFB.  There you will decide which bases you would prefer to be assigned.  When the Air Force looks at where they plan to fill their personnel needs, they look for people volunteering to go to a certain location first, then fill the remainder with the next best fit.  One example of that would be a position needing to be filled at McGuire AFB in New Jersey, and you put down the East Coast as a preferred region.

Granted, one often wonders how the process REALLY works.  They don't call it a "dream sheet" for nothing.  It seems that only a small percentage actually gets their preferred choices.  I originally put in for C-130s at Pope AFB, NC (to be stationed close to a cousin in the 82nd Airborne).  Of course, the Air Force saw fit to assign me to C-5s at Travis AFB, CA.  Somehow they could tell that, because I put down small planes on the East coast, I REALLY meant I wanted to go to large planes on the West coast.  Go figure.

The assignment process usually starts after you have completed Basic Training, and are at your initial training base.  Upon arrival at Sheppard AFB, TX (that's where I went to initial loadmaster training), they initiated my security clearance.  About four weeks into the school I found out I was being assigned to the 22nd Military Airlift Squadron at Travis AFB.  The 22 MAS (now redesignated as the 22 AS [Airlift Squadron]) flies C-5s.

After initial loadmaster school I was PCS'd (orders for Permanent Change of Station) to Travis.  Normally I would have gone on to Survival School at Fairchild AFB, WA first, but that year was tight on funding and I didn't get to go until later.  After settling into my first PDS (Permanent Duty Station [you'll get to learn all sorts of acronyms ... it's a whole 'nuther language]), I was sent to Altus for C-5 training as a loadmaster.  After that I spent roughly six months in OJT learning the specifics of my job and gaining experience.  Once my instructors felt I was ready, I was given a check ride (inflight evaluation) and was then qualified to perform my duties unsupervised.

If you want to look more into the particular aircraft on which you might be assigned, take a look at the following links.  They give you design insight (including great pictures) on each type, along with their primary assignment locations:

C-17
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/c-17.htm

C-5
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/c-5.htm

C-130
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/c-130.htm

You can see ALL the planes at ...
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/

Granted, these are the primary aircraft you would be assigned as a new loadmaster right out of school.  There are other aircraft available to seasoned veterans, but I won't mention them here.

If you haven't done so, please visit the Air Force section of my family website at ...
http://64.41.64.113/home/Air_Force.html

I have lots of links and pictures for you to drool over.  I only have pictures there from my KC-10 days (when I got a digital camera), but intend to eventually scan photos from my younger C-5 and C-141 days to post as well.

Please do keep in touch as you progress through training (my personal e-mail address is KC10Engr@aol.com), I would like to see where you eventually get stationed:  I have been to every base you could be sent to, so I could relate to any location.

Good luck on your career, may it be long and rewarding.

Sincerely,
James Bell