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Major hits milestone during final combat mission

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Timothy Boyer
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  As a child he looked up to his grandfather, an Army World War II veteran, and his Uncle Charles, an Army Vietnam War veteran. Inspired, he joined the Army ROTC at his small-town college, where he was a cadet from 1988 to 1989. During his two years at Alcorn State University, Cadet Patrick Hudson, now a major deployed here, had an instructor who was an Army helicopter pilot. This inspired Hudson to apply for the service academies, hoping to get into West Point to follow his instructor's footsteps as a helicopter pilot.

"I never heard from West Point," Hudson, the Fayette, Mississippi native, said. "But, I received an acceptance letter from the Air Force Academy. My instructor encouraged me to attend the Academy and told me I could seek an inter-service transfer later if I still wanted to fly for the Army."

Becoming a pilot proved to be a more difficult prospect than he originally thought.

"I didn't receive a pilot slot after graduation, so I competed for a slot while on active duty," Hudson, deployed from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., explained. "I was finally accepted to attend pilot training on my fourth and final attempt."

The U-2 pilot, who almost didn't fly, became the 31st pilot in the U-2 program's 58-year history to achieve 2,000 flight hours May 17 during the final combat mission of his Air Force career. This accomplishment came seven years and five days after Hudson's initial U-2 solo flight, making his achievement the second fastest in the aircraft's history.

His accomplishments did not come without sacrifice from both him and the ones he loves, his wife of 16 years and his two children.

"I reach 20 years of service next month," Hudson said with the look of pride gleaming in his eyes. "During that time I've deployed 20 times, first as a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot and then with the U-2."

As a U-2 pilot, Hudson has flown 146 combat missions, the fourth highest number of combat sorties in the history of the U-2.

Going from a KC-135, his first airframe, to the U-2 took some getting used to.

"We fly in a pressure suit because of the higher altitudes the aircraft operates," Hudson explained. "The suit is necessary. It will inflate and become your life-support system in the event of a decompression, but it limits your peripheral vision and dexterity which makes aircraft control and movement more difficult."

While the U-2 flight suit may be a little less comfortable, the pay-off can be amazing, according to Hudson.

"One of the most rewarding aspects of flying the U-2 is enjoying the view from altitude," he said. "At night, there's an unblemished view of the heavens and, on a clear day and in the right atmospheric conditions, you can see the Earth's curvature."

Eventually the sight-seeing of the reconnaissance flight has to come to an end, which leads to the unique team effort of a U-2 landing. With the lack of mobility from the suit and the unique specifications of the aircraft, every effort is made to ensure a successful return to the Earth.

"The most difficult part of flying the U-2 is the landing phase, it really gets the adrenaline going," Hudson explained with a hint of excitement in his voice. "Our envelope to safely land this aircraft is much smaller than other aircraft. This is why the mobile officer, another U-2 pilot, chases behind the aircraft on landing to provide altitude and safety of flight calls to assist the pilot in landing."

While he achieved his goal of becoming a pilot and has hit milestones, Hudson has not lost sight of why his job is important.

"My career highlight on the operational side is when I am involved with providing information to the troops on the ground," he said. "Our men and women directly involved in the fight risk their lives each day, and I'm always grateful when I've played a small part in helping them stay out of harm's way."

Reaching the milestone of 2,000 hours is a significant achievement, but it takes a team - from the mission planners and physiological support technicians to maintainers and contractors - to ensure a successful U-2 flight.

"Launching a U-2 on an operational mission is a huge undertaking, requiring a coordinated effort," Hudson said. "We do this safely each day, which gives the appearance of being simple or routine - it's not. Achieving 2,000 flight hours in the U-2 is a personal milestone, but this milestone is also a testament to everyone who makes this complicated effort appear seamless."


Editor's note: Maj. Patrick Hudson dedicates his 2,000-hour U-2 sortie to his grandfather and Uncle James, the two central father figures in his life, who both passed away during his deployment here last year.