LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
The Career Enlisted Aviators are scheduled to hold a recruiting event at the Langley Air Force Base theater, June 29 at 2 p.m. to showcase CEA careers.
The event will consist of a presentation, followed by an open forum with trained CEA personnel from all aircrew career fields, such as loadmaster, aerial gunner, airborne cryptologic linguist and more. Airmen and noncommissioned officers eligible to retrain can earn incentive pay each month in their new job.
Although some CEA fields are available for Airmen strait out of basic training, most aircrew career fields require Airmen to cross-train from their previous field, leading to a lack of awareness of the CEA career tracks. Due to this fact, most Airmen don't know there are opportunities to become an enlisted-aircrew member, leaving the career fields chronically undermanned.
Once accepted, potential CEA members will go to the Career Enlisted Aircrew Center of Excellence, the technical-training center for most aircrew careers, located at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
The 14-day undergraduate course teaches Airmen the basics necessary for all aircrew personnel. Once finished, they continue on to their survival training and then to their specific ground school.
The ground schools provide hands-on training, and use simulations to provide lifelike scenarios to test the Airmen's knowledge and ability to react to crisis situations. The schools last between eight and 29 weeks, depending on the career field.
While in technical training Airmen are not only taught their profession in depth, but are taught to make decisions on a moment's notice and speak up when needed, said Sennett.
"If something goes wrong you have to react right away," said Master Sgt. Richard Sennett, HC-130 command superintendent. "You have to think on your feet, nothing is ever set in stone."
Once Airmen graduate from ground school they earn their aircrew badge, more commonly known as their wings. Unlike most occupational badges, a CEA member's wings are a mandatory accoutrement, and must be worn on all uniforms.
"It was such a great feeling when I earned my wings," said Chief Master Sgt. Dan Hoglund, Air Combat Command Enlisted Aviator functional manager. "If I'm struggling, I look down at my chest and remember what I've accomplished."
Along with their treasured wings, CEA members also don flight suits. Flight suits give CEA members a sense of pride because less than 2 percent of enlisted Airmen are authorized to wear flight suits, said Hoglund. It also helps identify aircrew members among their peers, and with recent talks of regulation changes, this number will only shrink.
With a flight suit on at 30,000 feet in the air, there is no room for error so CEA Airmen are not only taught to react to emergencies, but to also look out for their wingmen and their families.
"We train all Airmen to look out for each other," said Hoglund. "When the aircrew member is in, their family is in."
While rank is a paramount structure of any military operation, aircrew personnel are subject matter experts in their respective fields, and are encouraged to provide input, regardless of rank.
"Once you leave the ground it's a different mindset," said Sennett. "You're not your rank, you're an aircrew member.
Sennett said another perk to joining the CEA ranks is that aircrew personnel work varied schedules that can break the monotony of a set schedule workday.
"You do something different every day," said Sennett. "When the plane takes off is when your day starts."
This can mean some early days and late nights, but aviation regulations mean aircrew members always have an adequate down time. Although down time can seem mundane, both Hoglund and Sennett, with a combined total of almost 40 years as aircrew personnel, have been on many operations around the globe.
Hoglund is preparing to leave on his seventh deployment, and even after many temporary duty assignments, including stops in 89 countries and numerous operations, he is eager to "get his feet wet again".
"It's not a part-time job," said Hoglund with a smile.
Although Sennett has reached the 20-year point in his career and Hoglund is nearing his, their passion for their career fields has left them with no desire to retire any time soon.
"Most people look forward to their 20-year mark, but I'm still being productive and having fun," said Sennett. "I love what I do, and I don't want to give it up."