What exactly is my Job?

Some people have inquired as to what exactly it is that I do. People often ask my family and friends about my daily life as an A-10 pilot and what that entails. Hopefully, this blog will provide you with some clarity.
First off, I am an Officer in the US Air Force. Self explanatory? Maybe not as you might wonder what does that mean exactly? As an Officer, you're primary responsibility is to manage, communicate, motivate, inspire and most importantly, LEAD the enlisted force of the military. How this is done varies greatly from individual to individual and obviously, some are more effective than others at leading. Perhaps the most important function of Officers' though is responsibility and accountability. Ultimately, the buck stops at Officers no matter what the enlisted personnel do (obviously within reason). In College back at SIUC during my Senior year, I was the Cadet Wing CC, meaning I was "in charge" of the Cadet Wing which consisted of about 125 cadets (Cadets are what people are called who are training to become Officers). One day I got called by the Colonel to report into his office wearing my full dress blues uniform (our formal uniform...usually worn when in trouble or for something very formal). I reported in and he left me standing at attention in front of his desk. A freshman Cadet had gotten in trouble for underage drinking. I hardly even knew the Cadet nor what they did in their spare time. However, the lesson being taught was that even though I was nowhere near the Cadet when the incident happened, it was my responsibility in that the proper drinking awareness programs had not been briefed, hence my failure to adequately train the Cadets. The Colonel was an effective leader in that he taught me at the age of 21 that I'm always responsible for the people underneath my command. A lesson I still abide by today and the fundamental aspect of being an Officer.
So that's the general premise of being an Officer. As for daily task, they range greatly from the training environment to the combat environment. At Moody, I spend just as much, if not more time doing my administrative duties. My administrative duty is the Squadron Chief of Stan Eval which means I'm responsible for ensuring the adherence to Air Force publications and regulations. With this title, my pilot qualification changed to an Evaluator Pilot, typically the highest qualification you'll get in the jet. My job is to fly what we call checkrides with pilots to ensure their capability in the jet is up to the Air Force standard of Combat Mission Readiness. Generally, this is not the most pleasant job as I have to hold my friends to a standard and if they don't perform well, I'm the one who has to give them downgrades (think a B or C grade....sometimes an F) on their overall performance. It can make for some uncomfortable situations. However, the vast majority of Air Force pilots are sharp and their skills are the best in the world at the type of flying we do. Along with this administrative job comes lot's and lot's of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and other electronic tracking programs. Computer work for short which as a Pilot, stinks! Aside from the admin side, my "other" job is an A-10 pilot. My official Air Force Specialty Code is 11F3B, meaning I'm a fighter pilot by trade. Think of me being an Officer in the Air Force as my profession; my job title is an A-10 fighter pilot. The Air Force pays me to be an Officer first, then the best A-10 pilot I can be. Along with that, comes all the administrative duties listed above.
On the combat side of the my job, it's very simple: my job is to protect United States and Coalition troops and other friendly forces on the ground from opposing enemy forces. How does this happen? It happens via multiple ways. Primarily, enemy forces know the A-10 when they see it. It's been called the "Silent Death", "Crusader Plane", and "The Gray Bomber" (we ARE NOT A BOMBER!!!!) amongst others. What that means is that when enemy forces see us, they usually will disengage with friendly forces and run away. They do this simply because of our presence overhead which equates to us saving lives on the ground since they are no longer being shot at. Other times, enemy forces are more persistent and our presence alone doesn't "break contact" as we call it. It's during these times when we have to employ the A-10 as it was designed; shooting bullets, rockets or missiles, and dropping bombs in close proximity to friendly forces.
So a typical day over here in Afghanistan equates to waking up, catching a bus to work, preflighting our gear we fly with (oxygen masks, communications gear, weapons, night vision goggles, laser pointers, binoculars, other stuff which all equates to about 125lbs of gear I wear and carry), then getting an intelligence brief on the latest enemy action and expected threats for the days mission, then briefing up the mission with our wingmen, going to the jets, and flying the mission. Sometimes you employ weapons; other times you don't; it all depends on the situation on the ground. After you return to Kandahar, you have to debrief with intelligence on what you saw and what happened so they can track enemy tactics, techniques, and procedures.

In the simplest form, when people ask you what's he fly or what's a mission like or does he fly on the weekends, answer this way. I fly A-10 Warthog's for the Air Force (no other branch has A-10's so don't believe the guy at Sam's who says he saw it on an aircraft carrier in Vietnam). It's an aircraft designed specifically for ground support. If they ask further ("well, does he carry cargo or how does he help the ground guys"...aka they want to know if I kill bad guys but they don't want to say that), you just tell them he can and does at times employ (drop, shoot, whatever you want to call it) lethal weapons as a last resort in order to save good guys. An A-10 flies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week here (obviously I personally don't fly that much as that's impossible), so yes, we fly on the weekends; the enemy doesn't stop trying to kill soldiers just because it's Sunday morning. However you handle the questions people ask you, always remind them that I am here as a volunteer and I happily serve the United States. I'm proud to be able to make a direct impact on our Nation's defense policies. Politics are a none factor in my choosing to serve. If someone turns it political with you, you just tell them it's not about the politics; it's simply about being here with those who choose to serve something greater than themselves.