Day in the life: B-52 commander's day filled with make-or-break decisions

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jason Tudor
  • 457th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
His day begins shortly before 6 a.m., making deposits.

Each person he sees, he pats on the shoulder, shakes hands with or offers a warm greeting -- deposits of confidence, calm and comfort. He treats them all alike, from the single-stripe airman to the blue-oak-leaf lieutenant colonel.

For Col. Dan Charchian, commander of the 457th Air Expeditionary Group at a deployed location, these deposits are a means of lifting morale. Each clasped hand is his way of saying "Thanks. Keep up the great work" or "I can't tell you how much your service means during this war."

Charchian embraces his deployed family of more than 1,000 as a father might. He takes care of them at all costs. Each of them, he says, is an irreplaceable asset, much like the B-52 bombers soaring off on sorties every day.

Charchian, deployed here from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., is living out the 8th grade dream he confessed to a Long Island, N.Y., guidance counselor nearly 30 years ago. "I want to join the Air Force," he said to the counselor. "I want to be a pilot."

A long day begins

By 6:30 a.m., Charchian is standing in the group's mission-planning cell. It is a room guarded by combination locks, nestled behind an eight-inch steel door and holding more secrets than a CIA vault.

Charchian stares at a whiteboard filled with the details of upcoming bomber sorties. This place is the heart of the war for his unit.

Charchian is scribbling notes and listening, getting a sense of mission capability as radios squawk in time with the mission planners bouncing from chart to chart. How many bombers can fly today? How many bombs have we dropped? What are the latest mission concerns?

Before 7 a.m., he owes headquarters a daily situation report. He reviews six pages of data from a handful of organizations. Summary of the report: so far, so good for the 457th AEG. "I love it when a plan comes together," he says, refilling the cup of coffee that stays welded to his hand like an 11th finger.

Charchian makes a few more deposits on his way to a 7:30 a.m. "feasibility-capability" meeting. He calls the meeting "no BS" and perhaps the most important gathering of the day. Difficult discussions here about aircraft capability, weapons, personnel and other classified items will affect sorties for the next two to three days. Charchian is careful to listen and learn from what his advisers offer him.

"I am in lockstep with these guys," he says, emphatic about both the courage and the resolve they bring to the table. "I'm very lucky to have a strong team here. It gives me a chance to concentrate on the big picture."

The path to command

Charchian's pilot wings carry the patina of more than 3,400 flying hours, including four years flying the B-1 Lancer. He has served the customary Pentagon staff tour and earned a master's degree in strategic studies.

Unlike most of his peers, however, Charchian has ejected from a crippled B-1 bomber. He calls himself living proof that a lifetime of training works.

He is expressive when he remembers the experience. "I don't think it's changed who I am, but it's made me a better commander and given me a bit more credibility with the aircrews," he says.

A morning's challenge

After a quick 8 a.m. battle staff meeting, he keeps his squadron commanders and deputies behind. Lt. Col. Steve, the assistant director of operations, brings up an issue that causes Charchian to place his head in his hands. His face is twisted, brow furrowed and he wants to make perfectly sure what he's heard is accurate. "Let's make sure we get this one right," he says to his cadre.

Despite the gravity of the issue, he is confident of his team's ability to talk through, clarify and arrive at solutions. "We have an exceptional team," he says, his New York accent heavy on the word "exceptional." "I can sleep well at night having these folks here."

During a working lunch, Charchian talks big-picture issues with his friends. There is, the table decides, a wide chasm between the wet-behind-the-ears aviators learning their chops in a 45-year-old airplane, and those who've been around the Buff so long that their hearts beat in time with the thrum of its eight engines.

"We're just not getting the people we need in between," the colonel tells his friends. "We as a (bomber) community have to offer up the solutions." Even in war, the "people" issues still weigh heavy.

Afternoon issues

As morning turns to afternoon, Charchian resolves more people issues with his first sergeant. He also makes arrangements for a promotion ceremony, one where a father will pin a set of silver oak-leaf clusters on his son.

By 1 p.m., Charchian is rolling toward the flight line to visit the young airmen fixing and guarding the jets.

His first stop is inside the maintenance and supply shop, where he gets an update of how many bombers can fly from maintenance's top chief. He pauses in front of a television set propped on a maintenance bench. Though he gets secret, detailed information on the war whenever he likes, nothing beats watching his bombers take off live on a cable television network.

"It's quite an experience to watch reality TV," he jokes, watching the Buff nicknamed "Ghost Rider" leap off the tarmac. He shakes his head and heads for the flight line.

He stops at bomber No. 1027, where four maintainers in coveralls, goggles and gloves are pulling pieces of sheet metal and opening engine cowlings to figure out an oil-pressure problem. They are determined to get the problem solved and the plane flying.

Senior Airman Matt explains what's going on and Charchian nods. He is confident that Matt and his fellow airmen will get the job done.

"I know they're gonna stick to it until they find it," he says. "This jet's got to go back into flying status. We can't afford to have it sitting here."

Charchian then moves around the 159-foot bomber from one security post to another. Force protection is a key issue here, with hundreds of security troops stationed around the line.

Charchian speaks to each security forces augmentee. He knows being dragged from home to watch over the hulking bombers isn't the best duty in the world, but the augmentees are an integral part of the team.

"I know you'll keep these planes secure," he tells an augmentee. "If you weren't here, we wouldn't have the kind of force protection needed to get this done."

Day's end

During the rest of a long day, Charchian tackles still more crucial issues that the leader of a combat unit must make -- life or death, make or break, win or lose.

After a pair of late meetings, Charchian turns over the group to Lt. Col. Steve for the night. It's the third time in 35 days of deployment he has had what he considers an early day -- just 14 hours.

As the sun sets, Charchian makes the day's final deposits: compliments to personnel specialists, more time for his aircrews and dinner with the troops.

Charchian smiles, knowing each deposit pays big dividends.

"It's an honor and privilege to lead this team. I'm glad I'm the one who got picked to be here," he says.

With that, he shakes one last hand and calls it a day.