S.C. Air Guard keeps eye on horizon
As it turns 60, many are preparing for arrival =
of
additional jets, personnel
By CHUCK CRUMBO
The S.C. Air
National Guard won’t spend very much time ambling down memory lane th=
is
month as it marks its 60th anniversary.
Too much is
happening now or will happen in the near future.
“Folks a=
re not
reflecting on the last 60 years as much as they are thinking about what the
next 60 years will be like,” said Chief Master Sgt. Charles Dickson, a
36-year military veteran who has been in the Guard for 30 years.
On the horizon=
are
more jets and more people as the Air Force tries to take advantage of the
Guard’s experience and skill to train junior airmen.
With the addit=
ional
jets, the Guard’s fighter squadron will grow from 15 to 24 planes plus
four spares.
Also, about 32=
5 more
people will be working at Eastover’s McEntire Joint National Guard Ba=
se
due to recommendations by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.=
The
new personnel will be a mix of Guard members and active-duty airmen assigne=
d to
McEntire.
Farther down t=
he
road, the Guard plans to welcome the F-35 fighter, a stealth plane that also
will be flown by the Navy and Marine Corps.
The Air Force
expects to receive its first F-35s in 2009, and the Guard figures it will b=
egin
converting to the new jets in 2017, providing everything goes as planned.
Until then, th=
e S.C.
Air Guard will be improving and adapting its current fleet of F-16s to an
ever-changing world.
“You hav=
e to
think about the future and what’s going to keep you in the fight,R=
21;
Dickson said.
FROM MUSTANGS =
TO
FALCONS
From its begin=
ning
on Dec. 9, 1946, when 52 men chartered the organization, the S.C. Air Guard=
has
grown to 1,200 members and become one of the nation’s top fighter uni=
ts.
“We̵=
7;ve
always been on the leading edge of technology,” said Col. Deane
Pennington, the veteran fighter pilot who is vice commander of the 169th
Fighter Wing, the Air Guard’s primary unit.
The first plan=
es the
Guard unit flew were P-51 Mustangs, the single-seat fighter credited with
giving the
Today, the S.C=
. Air
Guard flies the latest model of the F-16CJ Fighting Falcon, equipped with t=
he
most advanced electronic gear.
Inside the Air
Force, the wing is regarded as one of the best. Its veteran pilots include =
nine
graduates of the Air Force’s Top Gun school. About half the unit̵=
7;s
pilots are certified as instructors.
S.C. aviators,
Pennington said, write the Air Force book on combat tactics.
Lt. Col. Mike
Hudson, fighter squadron commander, credited his predecessors for the
unit’s success.
“We inhe=
rited
their tradition of outstanding performance,” said Hudson, a
On the mainten=
ance
side, the 169th is the only F-16 unit in either the Air Guard or Air Force =
to
rack up 100,000 flying hours without a major mishap. The mark was reached
despite a half-dozen recent deployments to the Middle East to fly combat
missions over
Standards are =
high
for maintainers and technicians who work on the single-engine fighters beca=
use,
Dickson said, “when the motor quits you=
217;re
not going to pull over to the side of the road.”
Pennington add=
ed
many of the F-16 crew chiefs, directly responsible for maintaining a jet, h=
ave
worked on the same plane since it arrived from the factory back in the
mid-’90s. Some crew chiefs are so attuned to their aircraft that they=
can
tell just by listening to the engine if it’s ready to fly, he said.
Another factor=
Guard
leaders believe has contributed to the safety record is an understanding th=
at
everyone involved in either flying or maintaining the plane has to be
“comfortable” about sending it airborne.
“If
they’re not, we’ll shut ’er
down,” Dickson said.
“Their w=
ord is
good enough for me,” added Pennington.
‘IT̵=
7;S
MORE LIKE A FAMILY’
The unit’=
;s
edge, said Col. Keith Coln, who doubles as base
commander and wing commander, is its people.
“It̵=
7;s
all revolved around people who are excited about their service to serve the=
ir
country ... to their fellow man,” Coln sa=
id,
noting that the Guard’s mission and planes have changed over the year=
s.
“I don’t think those core values have changed over 60 years.=
221;
The Air
Guard’s founders also made sure the culture of McEntire would be one
where their sons and daughters wanted to work, Coln
said.
Children of fo=
rmer
and current Guard members can be found working across the Eastover base.
Senior Airmen =
Karl
Williams and Michael Hale are two examples.
Williams’
father, who is retired, was an air traffic controller. Hale’s father =
is
supervisor of the avionics technicians, making him Williams’ boss.
A graduate of =
Had he joined =
the
Air Force, Williams would have had to move from one base to another about e=
very
three years.
A career at Mc=
Entire
seemed almost preordained, said Hale, a graduate of
“I’=
;ve
always been coming out here since I was a little kid,” said Hale, an
aircraft electrician. “I kind of grew up here.”
Many younger m=
embers
like Senior Airman Jason Brown say they were motivated to join the Air Guard
after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Brown, a middle
school social studies teacher in Lexington District 1, enlisted in the Guard
and is training to be an air traffic controller.
“I’=
;ve
always loved aviation, and after 9/11 I wanted to be a part of (the militar=
y)
in some way,” Brown said. “The Guard presented the best
opportunity.”
It’s a s=
ense
of duty and the love of her job that motivates Staff Sgt. Abigail Oman, an =
F-16
crew chief.
“This is=
a
great job because there’s always something to do,”
“Everybo=
dy
works together here and everybody helps,” said
Reach Crumbo at (803) 771-8503.