Cadets learn mission through Operation Air Force

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Eric Burks
  • 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (AFPN) --  Eighteen U.S. Air Force Academy cadets visited McChord Air Force Base June 13 to experience operations and day-to-day experiences in the Air Force.

The cadets visited McChord AFB during the first phase of Operation Air Force, a career-broadening program, and then flew on board a C-17 Globemaster III to Hickam AFB, Hawaii.

Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean during the flight, Cadet 3rd Class Carly Olsowski stood in the cockpit and looked out across the vast expanse of blue. With a vision to fly jets for the Air Force after graduation, she spoke with Lt. Col. Douglas Patterson and Maj. Rob Luzader, C-17 pilots from the 313th Airlift Squadron.

"My dream aircraft was the A-10 (Thunderbolt II), but since I have been at McChord, I have begun to think that flying heavies is the sort of lifestyle that I would like to have," Cadet Olsowski said. 

If one day in the future she finds herself behind the controls of a McChord AFB C-17, she would be following in the footsteps of Colonel Patterson, who graduated from the Academy in 1989. Laughter filled the cockpit when Cadet Olsowski noted that she was born the same year.

The mission served several purposes, said Capt. Ian Ostermiller, the 10th Airlift Squadron facilitator who accompanied the cadets.

"It's a great location, so in a sense it's an advertisement for the mobility mission," he said. "You see a lot of the world, and Hawaii is a good way to get somebody's attention."

However, it's more than just a day at the beach, the captain said. "Local training sorties can't capture the complexity involved in leaving home station and going overseas."

"An off-station trainer that crosses the ocean is a great way to get cadets close to the mission in a controlled environment," Captain Ostermiller said. "They get to see all aspects, from working with the aerial port troops to interacting with the aircrew. Hopefully they come away from the experience with a smile on their face, but also with a better understanding of all the moving pieces involved in getting from A to B, especially when B is across the ocean." 

Cadet 3rd Class Daniel Venable said the off-station C-17 trainer showed him the real diversity and complexity of Air Force missions.

"Operation Air Force has really opened my eyes to many new career fields," he said. "It has given me a really good perspective on how things work outside of cadet life at the Academy."

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