MATTYDALE - With two wars happening on the opposite side of the world, people in central New York may have a hard time picturing what soldiers do on the job.
The Central New York Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve helped 35 people get a front row seat for a training mission earlier this month to fill in the blanks.
Company and community leaders from around the region became passengers on a tanker plane during a midair refueling mission. The ESGR committee hopes to educate employers as to what their workers do during their other job, said Dick Blansett, event coordinator.
“It's an opportunity of employers or prospective employers to go along on an actual mission and see what happens, and to see what guardsmen will do when they are on active duty,” Blansett said.
The 174th Fighter Wing of the New York Air National Guard and 157th Air Refueling Wing of the New Hampshire Air National Guard participated in the training mission.
The 174th Fighter Wing unit is based at the Hancock Airfield, where the tanker plane departed. The training took place over airspace above the Adirondacks, north of Rome.
“The ESGR's ... primary purpose is to communicate between Reservists and Guardsmen and their employers,” Blansett said.
He coordinates missions for others to observe about once a year. While organizers don't know who's going to participate in the training ahead of time, usually 75 percent of the tanker crew are Reservists and the rest of the crew may be full-time military members.
“It's a great opportunity in a dramatic way to see guardsmen (do) what they are trained to do,” Blansett said.
Skaneateles resident John Paddock has participated in his share of training missions even before the event, first as member of the military for more than 35 years, and then as a ESGR central New York member.
He added that this exercise is a way of rewarding employers who are flexible with their workers who also are members of the National Guard and Reserves.
“We try to create dialogue between the community and the reservist. If they have any issues they can go to (the committee),” Paddock said.
Other participants included Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sue Dove, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, among many others.
To prepare the participants for the unorthodox flight, the passengers had a safety briefing, similar to flight attendants' message at the beginning of commercial flights. However, people knew they were in for a different kind of ride when they were instructed to carry their oxygen masks with them anywhere they went.
The long tanker plane had few windows, and people knelt around them to watch the F-16 fighter airplanes flying near the tanker's wings during the exercise. The tanker led a V-shaped configuration until the other planes fell into the proper formation. Then, the boom operator in the tankers#, rear extended the boom, the line that carries the gasoline from the tanker to the fighter jets.
To refuel one plane from the storage of another, the boom operator lies on his belly and peers through windows to ensure he guides the boom into the receiver correctly. During the training exercise, two people laid down next to the boom operator, one on each side, to catch sight of him at work. Two lines stretched down half the aircraft as people waited for their turns to watch the training.
Pete Sheedy was able to go to the training through his work as a Skaneateles Lake watershed inspector for the city of Syracuse on the East Genesee facility.
“It was amazing,” he said. “I've never done that before.”
The airplanes stayed in place with the tanker longer than necessary, getting “dry hits” from the refueling vehicle so all participants could see the operation from the back of the aircraft.
To get the full experience of military personnel's jobs, the participants learned about the Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, the Reserve program in general, and resources for Reservists and their employers.
Crew leader Al Beaulieu says people don't know about the Reserve program. The now full-time technical sergeant was in the program part time for years, going on night missions while working as an auto mechanic during his day job.
“There's a lot of people working hard and no one knows about it,” he said of all the Reservists.
Company and community leaders from around the region became passengers on a tanker plane during a midair refueling mission. The ESGR committee hopes to educate employers as to what their workers do during their other job, said Dick Blansett, event coordinator.
“It's an opportunity of employers or prospective employers to go along on an actual mission and see what happens, and to see what guardsmen will do when they are on active duty,” Blansett said.
The 174th Fighter Wing of the New York Air National Guard and 157th Air Refueling Wing of the New Hampshire Air National Guard participated in the training mission.
The 174th Fighter Wing unit is based at the Hancock Airfield, where the tanker plane departed. The training took place over airspace above the Adirondacks, north of Rome.
“The ESGR's ... primary purpose is to communicate between Reservists and Guardsmen and their employers,” Blansett said.
He coordinates missions for others to observe about once a year. While organizers don't know who's going to participate in the training ahead of time, usually 75 percent of the tanker crew are Reservists and the rest of the crew may be full-time military members.
“It's a great opportunity in a dramatic way to see guardsmen (do) what they are trained to do,” Blansett said.
Skaneateles resident John Paddock has participated in his share of training missions even before the event, first as member of the military for more than 35 years, and then as a ESGR central New York member.
He added that this exercise is a way of rewarding employers who are flexible with their workers who also are members of the National Guard and Reserves.
“We try to create dialogue between the community and the reservist. If they have any issues they can go to (the committee),” Paddock said.
Other participants included Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sue Dove, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, among many others.
To prepare the participants for the unorthodox flight, the passengers had a safety briefing, similar to flight attendants' message at the beginning of commercial flights. However, people knew they were in for a different kind of ride when they were instructed to carry their oxygen masks with them anywhere they went.
The long tanker plane had few windows, and people knelt around them to watch the F-16 fighter airplanes flying near the tanker's wings during the exercise. The tanker led a V-shaped configuration until the other planes fell into the proper formation. Then, the boom operator in the tankers#, rear extended the boom, the line that carries the gasoline from the tanker to the fighter jets.
To refuel one plane from the storage of another, the boom operator lies on his belly and peers through windows to ensure he guides the boom into the receiver correctly. During the training exercise, two people laid down next to the boom operator, one on each side, to catch sight of him at work. Two lines stretched down half the aircraft as people waited for their turns to watch the training.
Pete Sheedy was able to go to the training through his work as a Skaneateles Lake watershed inspector for the city of Syracuse on the East Genesee facility.
“It was amazing,” he said. “I've never done that before.”
The airplanes stayed in place with the tanker longer than necessary, getting “dry hits” from the refueling vehicle so all participants could see the operation from the back of the aircraft.
To get the full experience of military personnel's jobs, the participants learned about the Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, the Reserve program in general, and resources for Reservists and their employers.
Crew leader Al Beaulieu says people don't know about the Reserve program. The now full-time technical sergeant was in the program part time for years, going on night missions while working as an auto mechanic during his day job.
“There's a lot of people working hard and no one knows about it,” he said of all the Reservists.
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