Expert: James Bell - 1/28/2004

Question
Hey there!  I'm currently enlisting in the Air Force and am contemplating the career fields, with most interest being in aircrew. I was wondering if you would mind telling me what some of the aircrew jobs are really like on a day to day basis?  I've read basic information on about.com about all the aircrew positions but it would be great to know what some of these jobs are like firsthand! Any information you could share would be greatly appreciated!  =) Sincerely, Jeema Lance

Answer
Greetings Jeema -

Take a look at my family website ... www.BellHomeWorks.com.

Click on AIR FORCE STUFF from the menu on the left, and browse through the pictures I have there, especially the Operation ENDURING FREEDOM ones.  That will give you somewhat of an idea, visually.

I can give you information on three different aircrew positions ... boom operator, loadmaster, and flight engineer.

Boom operator and loadmaster are very similar, in that the main bulk of their training pertains to the proper loading and balancing of the the aircraft for flight.  Loadmasters fly on cargo aircraft, while boom operators fly on tankers.  In addition to cargo and passenger handling, the boom operator also has the dubious task of performing inflight regueling ... flying the boom into another aircraft during flight for refueling.  That's definitely one of those "glory" jobs, but there is no demand for it on the civilian market.

Think of the flight engineer as Scotty on the Starship Enterprise.  The pilots may fly the plane, but the engineer runs all the equipment ... he does the preflight of the entire cockpit, and manages the hydraulics, pneumatics, avionics, environmental, electric, and fuel systems, along with calculating the takeoff and landing data, along with all the required inflight performance and fuel computations.  This is definitely a demanding and rewarding job.

I spent seven years as a loadmaster, and got myself ONE Commendation Medal.  Granted, it was during the quiet days of the 80s, before we went to war with everyone.  I retrained to flight engineer in '87, and the world got really busy once we got into Desert Shield and Storm.  In the 90s I earned an Air Medal, two Aerial Achievement Medals, the Kosovo Campaign Medal and Nato Medal for operations in Yugoslavia, and the Southwest Asia Service Medal for Desert Shield/Storm/Calm.

Since 9/11, I can't tell you how many times I deployed, but it was a lot.  In the two and a half years since then I have earned three more Air Medals and the Oustanding Unit Award a half dozen times, twice with Valor (meaning the enemy was hurling bullets and rockets in my direction).

There is a lot more I can tell you, but I will let you pick a few specific questions to ask.  If you want, you can write me directly at KC10Engr@aol.com.

Good luck on your decision and I hope it is one you find personally rewarding.

Sincerely,
James Bell, MSgt
Almost Retired