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Career Milestone: 335th Mission, 1000th Hour, 335th EFS

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Daniel Delgado
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan --  Rewind 17 years to 1991. Then 1st Lt. Travis Willis flew his first combat sortie in an F-111F Aardvark on night one of Operation DESERT STORM.

Fast forward 1,000 combat hours to March 31, 2008 when aircrew and maintenance members of the 335th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron congratulated Lt. Col. Travis "Flak" Willis. The F-15E Strike Eagle weapon systems officer achieved the aviation milestone on an Operation ENDURING FREEDOM mission over the skies of Afghanistan, which happened to be his 335th mission.

From his first combat hour to his 1000th, Colonel Willis credits his success to two things: training and maintenance.

"The way we train day to day is the key to our success in war" said Colonel Willis. "It takes about 2.5 years to train an F-15E pilot or WSO to be combat ready. We have folks on the deployment who just completed their training and are mission ready. I know for a fact because I see them flying over in OEF doing a fantastic job. Our success depends heavily on Air Education and Training Command teaching them their basic flying skills and earning their wings."

The students then head to the 333rd Fighter Squadron and 334th Flying Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C, where they're taught to fly the F-15E Strike Eagle.
"The job these two training squadrons do impact the entire F-15E fleet across the world. Finally, the young F-15E pilots and WSOs are trained on how to employ the F-15E in combat by the 335th. In fact, the pilots and WSOs today are better prepared than when I was a young WSO."

It's also the young maintainers who keep today's aging aircraft in the air and in the fight. Throughout his career, Colonel Willis has always been impressed by Air Force maintainers.

"Even though our jets are starting to get a little long in the tooth, you know they are the best maintained aircraft in the world," he said. "The crew chiefs, back shops, weapons loaders are all top-notch and have pride in their jobs. They go into combat with us every day. You have absolute faith in your maintainers and the aircraft."

Previously, Colonel Willis was the VT-10 Wildcats Skipper, or squadron commander, at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida. VT-10 is a joint Navy and Air Force squadron that trains officers to be WSOs and naval flight officers for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

"It's brilliant; some of the young WSOs I trained two years ago in VT-10 are flying here today with the 335th Chiefs, and it is great to see what a wonderful job they are doing," said the Texas native.

"Flying in the Air Force is open to anyone and we need the best and brightest," added the colonel. "A lot of people don't imagine themselves flying jets in the Air Force. All you need is the desire, drive and focus...the Air Force will provide the training and the opportunity."

Lt. Col. James Jinnette, 335th EFS commander, appreciates Colonel Willis' influence in his unit.

"We're a very young squadron, with 22 first-time deployers," said Colonel Jinnette. "Flak's incredible breadth of combat experience, gained over nearly two decades and multiple tours in two aircraft types really inspires our aviators at all experience levels. He's a fantastic instructor, and I credit him with helping many of our youngest officers achieve remarkable things here in Afghanistan. They have been exceptional, and it's due in no small part to his leadership."

Colonel Willis has flown combat missions in Operations DESERT STORM, PROVIDE COMFORT, NORTHERN WATCH, DENY FLIGHT, ALLIED FORCE, SOUTHERN WATCH and ENDURING FREEDOM.

This breadth of experience has given the colonel a deep understanding of the importance of air power in the combat zone.

"We bring massive firepower into the fight quickly, with precision and flexibility. If needed, we can strike deep, well beyond the ground forces ability to project power or engage the enemy in conjunction with the ground forces. My hats off to the great job the folks on the ground are doing here in Afghanistan. The combined air-ground team is very effective."

Over the years, Colonel Willis has not lost his enthusiasm for his job and looks forward to deployments.

"Everyone should want to deploy, regardless of your job," he added. "Some of my best memories in the Air Force are from deployments."