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Mobility Airman profile: Pope officer, C-130 pilot, supports aeromedical airlift mission from Southwest Asia

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Aeromedical evacuation missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility are flown on a variety of aircraft to include the C-17 Globmaster III, KC-135 Stratotanker as well as the C-130 Hercules.

For Maj. Stephen Cheek, a C-130 pilot with the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia, flying aeromedical and other airlift missions are part of the deployed job.

"We know that our mission is to get the patients to where they need to go," said Cheek in a Aug. 15 news report written by 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs' Senior Airman Paul Labbe. "The aero meds are the ones tasked with their care so it's our job to facilitate them in any way possible."

In supporting the aeromedical and airlift missions for operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, Cheek is doing exactly what he is trained to do, according to his official Air Force job description for an Air Force airlifter pilot.

The job description shows an airlift pilot like Cheek is required to "pilot airlift aircraft and command crews to accomplish airlift, training and other missions."

To fulfill his work as an airlift pilot, Cheek reviews mission tasking, intelligence and weather information, the job description states. He supervises mission planning, preparation, filing a flight plan and crew briefings and he ensures the aircraft is pre-flighted, inspected, loaded, equipped and manned for each mission.

Airmen like Cheek also pilot aircraft and command crews. They are trained to operate aircraft controls and equipment and perform, supervise, or direct navigation, in-flight refueling, and cargo and passenger delivery. They also ensure the operational readiness of the crew by conducting or supervising mission specific training and they develop plans and policies, monitor operations and assist commanders with functions related to airlift operations, the job descript shows.

Pilots like Cheek also have to maintain mandatory job knowledge in the theory of flight, air navigation, meteorology, flying directives, aircraft operating procedures and mission tactics.

The article shows Cheek is deployed from Pope Field, N.C., and his hometown is Southern Pines, N.C. At Pope, he serves with the Air Force Reserve's 95th Airlift Squadron.

According to statistics from Headquarters Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB, aeromedical evacuation experts have conducted more than 174,000 patient movements and 35,000 sorties since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom on March 19, 2003. That averages out to nearly 13 potentially life-saving missions a day.

(Senior Airman Paul Labbe, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this article.)