Third generation aviator continues the tradition

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christie Putz
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (AFPN) --  “These things we do, that others may live” is the motto of the 36th Rescue Flight here and the inspiration for one Airman’s pride.

Capt. Sean Boldt’s passion for helicopters and their mission started at a young age through the work of his father, an Army helicopter pilot. He said some of his earliest memories are of sitting in an AH-1 Cobra helicopter with his father, “pulling the sticks and pushing the buttons.”

Those experiences let his fascination with flying and the military take off.

Captain Boldt is a UH-1N Huey pilot here and follows in his father’s footsteps: taking the controls and risking his life for others.

“This is what I love to do,” he said. “This is my true passion.”

And he gets to do his job quite a bit. The flight’s primary mission is supporting U.S. Air Force Survival School parachute operations, hoist training and other survival tactics. The Airmen also provide medical airlift to injured students and conduct search and rescue operations in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho.

“Most local search agencies are limited in what they can do,” Captain Boldt said. “We’ve got all the equipment needed, including night-vision goggles, a forward-looking infrared pod and a 250-foot hoist that can lift (as much as) 600 pounds.”

Armed with this gear, Captain Boldt and the flight’s other Airmen put their lives on the line as they often fly into inclement weather in search of missing people. To date, flight Airmen have nearly 600 saves.

One save on the captain’s record is the return of an Idaho woman who had been missing for three days in the 9,000-foot mountain peaks near McCall, Idaho.

“She had tried to hike up a cliff to a cabin and fell about 200 feet,” Captain Boldt said.

With a broken neck, leg, arm and ribs, the woman crawled another 200 yards to a stream where she used her shirt to soak up drinking water. Having a water source is the main reason she survived three days, he said.

“We found her in a really dense forest area and lowered our medic to make an initial assessment,” he said.

The helicopter was low on fuel, so it was critical to land, Captain Boldt said. The only option was the side of the cliff. He landed, and the team saved the woman, who is now home safe with her family, he said.

“It was demanding flying to say the least,” he said. “But one more night and she wouldn’t have made it. Knowing she is alive right now is the feeling I live for.”

Heroics? No, he said, just part of the job.

Another sacrifice that comes with his job is the busy work schedule, Captain Boldt said. While the flight’s Airmen do not deploy, their around-the-clock search and rescue mission keeps them active. Crews make weeklong trips into the woods almost every month, he said, keeping them away from home a lot.

“My wife has been nothing but supportive of my career,” he said. “She knows that this is what I love to do. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Although raised in a predominantly Army family, the words of his Airman grandfather were enough to sway him to the Air Force.

“He told me that if I wanted ... to fly, the Air Force was the way to go,” Captain Boldt said.

The captain said he is fulfilling his dreams. He briefly considered flying fixed-wing airplanes, but his family ties with helicopters and the added “perks” were enough to convince him otherwise.

“There’s so much more maneuverability with helos than planes,” he said. “Helicopters fly low and slow, and they’re much noisier. But can a plane fly backwards or sideways?”

Captain Boldt said he looks forward to passing on the tradition of military service to his 1-year-old son, Gage. He said he hopes his son will someday have a fraction of the passion and determination he has for flying. Maybe his son will also be seen as a hero to some.