Boom takes to skies to fuel mission

  • Published
  • By Gina Randall
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  For many Airmen in the military, their work can involve a certain level of stress. Boom operators' stress level is 25 thousand feet above the earth, and they have one shot to get it right.

"I remember the first time I refueled, it was a C-17," said Airman 1st Class Avemaoe Liaiga, 351st Air Refueling Squadron boom operator. "It was huge, and I remember watching it come closer. The engines seemed like they were shaking. I thought to myself 'they are going to fall off; this C-17 is going to fall out of the sky!'"

Her extensive training prepared her to confidently complete her first refueling mission.

"Initially I went through an eight-week training course," Liaiga explained. "Then we took aircraft fundamentals, which introduced us to the basics of flying for all enlisted flying career fields."

The training wasn't limited to the skills she would need to carry out her duties should the worst happen in flight, it included skills which could potentially save her life and those around her.

"Then I went to survival school where we learned skills we would need in case our plane went down," Liaiga stated. "It was very challenging. We spent a week in the wilderness learning how to survive with just essentials followed by water survival. Also, we became simulated prisoners of war for training purposes, where we were taught different resilience techniques."

With underlying knowledge and training in place, she was then tasked to hone the skills she would need to keep jets in the fight, and cargo planes transporting lifesaving equipment to those in need.

"Then I went to Oklahoma, where I started learning about my actual job and my aircraft. That was when I actually started to fly," Liaiga reflected.

She was now ready to put her training to use, to reward the efforts of her instructors and to make her family and nation proud.

"I'm a boom operator that performs inflight refueling," Liaiga said when asked about her current career. "We refuel different types of aircraft so they can complete their mission."

Her day begins like many other people's -- she wakes up, gets dressed, has her coffee and heads to work. That is where she begins a job many people can only dream of.

"In a typical day, we come in and get everything ready for the mission," Liaiga explained. "We spend around an hour and a half preparing, brief what's going to happen that day during the mission; then we go out to the jet to prepare it for flight. Once everything is ready, we take off, catch our receivers, fuel them and come home."

While taking to the skies each day, she never becomes complacent about how vital her work is.

"After you give the receivers their gas you know you're able to help them out a great deal to get to where they're going, whether it's transporting cargo or getting back into the fight," Liaiga said. "I feel that's really rewarding because without us, the mission couldn't go on."

At that moment it falls to three people, to take to the skies and bring those in the fight home safely by providing them the vital gas to get from behind enemy lines. A pilot, copilot and boom operator make up a three-person crew.

Being a small team makes the bond strong, it's the people she's met in her career and those she hopes to meet, that she will remember in years to come.

"When I retire, I hope I will have helped out as many people as I can," Liaiga said. "Throughout training I had a lot of really good instructors that really stood out to me and I hope I can do that for someone else."

She fondly remembers her early experiences of those who molded her into the young Airman she became. She worked hard to get to where she is today.

"On my first flight, I had two instructors with me, I was so nervous and I studied very hard the night before," Liaiga reflected. "I remember going back into the boom pod and opening the sighting door. It was a very beautiful day, so looking out into the world and looking down was really amazing and exciting."

Her current leadership is proud of the work she does.

"Airman Liaiga is a highly motivated boom operator who is always willing to fly," said Staff Sgt. Steven Mertens, 351st ARS NCO in charge of 'A' flight. "With our current manning and operations tempo, every sortie she flies is critical in executing the wing's mission."

In her work she takes to the skies, but her chosen career has enabled her to live in a whole new country and gain an experience many of her classmates could never imagine.

"When I finished high school I was really confused with my life and didn't really know what I wanted to do. I definitely didn't think I would be here in England," Liaiga laughed. "But I'm glad it turned out this way, and right now I can't imagine doing anything else."