Operation Air Force brings cadets to the fight

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tim Bazar
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Nineteen U.S. Air Force Academy cadets have deployed to Southwest Asia for a month as part of Operation Air Force.

The career-broadening program brought a total of 52 senior cadets to three air bases in the region to learn more about what they will do once they receive their commissions. It also gives them perspective on other career fields, according to deployed leaders.

“The training the cadets receive here will show them how motivated and qualified all our Airmen are,” said Col. John Norton, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing vice commander. “They’ll gain perspective on what’s happening in the Air Force and how every (Air Force specialty) works together.”

“Our goal is to enhance the training, education and experience they’ve already received to make them more well-rounded officers,” said Lt. Col. Richard Williams, 3rd Cadet Group commander at the academy. “Each cadet already knows (his or her) job, but we want them to learn about other jobs related to theirs.

Not every cadet gets the opportunity to deploy.

“Cadets were handpicked after several records reviews and interviews,” Colonel Williams said. “These cadets are in the top 20 percent of their class.”

Although all cadets participate in summer training at bases worldwide, only cadets in their senior year get the chance to deploy. Sophomores and juniors typically visit stateside bases and the occasional overseas base, the colonel said.

“Each summer, cadets learn more about what it’s like in the operational Air Force,” said Master Sgt. Robert McGill, 33rd Cadet Squadron military trainer. “Their last summer at the academy, they will learn about how their job is done while deployed, because on a grand scale, that’s what the Air Force is all about.”

Cadets 1st Class Bryan Gibbs and Erica Olson are two Air Force Academy seniors here for the month-long training course.

“It’s great to see other sides of the Air Force,” said Cadet Gibbs, working with the F-15 crews of the 335th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. “Typically we only see (technical) and master sergeants or lieutenant colonels and colonels during classes. It puts things in perspective to see one- and two-stripers out on the flightline sweating to get the job done.”

So far the cadets have viewed different airframes, loaded and unloaded planes, and toured intelligence, tactics, planning and scheduling and life support flights.

“The interaction between officer and enlisted is unreal,” said Cadet Olson, who is currently working with 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron C-17 crews. “The mutual respect they have is great. Everyone across the board is so professional and takes his or her job seriously.”

The cadets are adapting quickly to deployed life, said Cadet Gibbs, the cadet leader. They’re learning how the different flights and offices in the Air Force work together to get the job done.

But one thought still lingers.

“I really want to get in the cockpit and fly one of these planes,” Cadet Olson said.