Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with a large and varied group of cadets. Many of these cadets applied to one of the Service Academies and went on to graduate and become commissioned officers. Another young man that I also watched grow up was my nephew Tom. Although he was never a cadet, he is an Eagle Scout (as are his Dad and I) and we all used to go hiking and camping together. We also skied with his family on a regular basis. In what some of the family saw as a surprise move, he applied to both the US Naval and the US Air Force Academy and was appointed and accepted to both. Growing up in Maryland, and having his family in Maryland, most of the family pushed him to go to the USNA. I, despite being a "Navy Brat" (Dad was a 20 year Chief in the USN) talked with him about what he wanted to do with his life and encouraged him to head west. He made the choice to go to "Wild Blue U" and graduated in 1997. I kept in touch through emails and made a visit to see him his freshman year. (we went spring skiing at A-Basin and both got the worst sun burns of our lives). I had the chance to attend his graduation and was happy to hear he was accepted to SUPT (pilot school) in 1999.

I was able to attend his graduation at Columbus AFB in Mississippi where he finished at the top of his class and was able to pick his choice of aircraft, the F15-C. He has been an Eagle driver since then. He spent his first assignment at Elgin in Florida and went from there to Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. Six months ago he got word that he was accepted as a student at the USAF Weapons School at Nellis AFB in Nevada. In fact he knew he was an alternate selection for the school but the primary screwed up (what happened is classified so ....) and he had three and a half weeks to get up to speed for the school. Can you say "Maverick and Goose"? See below for a description of the USAF Weapons School.

History of the Weapons School

The United States Air Force Weapons School traces its roots to the Aircraft Gunnery School established in 1949 at Las Vegas Air Force Base (which became Nellis Air Force Base in 1950). This organization brought together a cadre of World War II combat veterans dedicated to teaching the next generation of pilots. The Gunnery School converted to combat crew training to meet the needs of the Korean War. In January 1954, the school assumed the mission of training fighter instructors, and took on the title, "USAF Fighter Weapons School." Students at Nellis trained in F-SI. F-80. F-84 and all versions of the F-100 aircraft during this period. By 1960. the F-100 and the F-lO5 were left as the two primary aircraft flown at the Weapons School.

In 1965, the Fighter Weapons School added the F-4 to its courses. As the roles of fighter aircraft expanded during the Vietnam War, the Fighter Weapons School began to have an impact across the larger Air Force. Many of the air-to-ground and air-to-air innovations of this period can be traced to the Weapons School. Assigned aircraft continued to change in concert with Air Force inventories. The Weapons School deactivated the F-100 and F-l05 courses, and added the F-l11 and A-7D. The Aggressors, flying the T-38 and F-5 were stood-up as part of the Weapons School in the early 1970s to improve air-to-air skills by providing accurate threat replication for dissimilar air combat training. The A-7 tenure in the school was a brief 3 years as the squadron transitioned from A-7s to F-5 Aggressors in 1975. Fighter modernization brought both the A-10 and the F-I5 into Weapons School operations in 1977.

The 1980s ushered in a time of significant change for the Weapons School. In 1981, the school underwent a complete reorganization as the squadrons became divisions. The Aggressor squadrons transferred to the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing. The F-1ll Division became a geographically separated detachment of the Nellis-based Weapons School. The newly formed F-16 Division graduated its first students in 1982. In 1984 the Weapons School expanded its courses beyond the traditional fighter aircrew, adding a course to train weapons controllers in the F- 15 Division. A passing of the torch to the current Weapons School occurred when the last F-4 class graduated in 1985, ending 20 years of F-4 weapons officer training. The Air Weapons Controller Division, later known as the Command and Control Operations (CCO) Division activated as a separate unit in 1987. The school gained a Fighter Intelligence Officers Course in 1988 which became the graduate patch-awarding Intelligence Division in 1990. The F-I 5E Division became part of the school in 1991.

With the stand-up of Air Combat Command in 1992 the school embarked on a dramatic shift from its 43-year focus exclusively on fighter aviation, dropping the "fighter" from its title and becoming the "Air Force Weapons School." The change was much more than symbolic with the activation of the B-52 and B-1 Divisions that year. Rescue helicopters joined the school with the HH-60 Division in 1995 while the F-1ll retired. That year also saw the addition of RC-135 RIVET JOINT and EC-130 COMPASS CALL courses to the CCO Division. To increase the graduate-level understanding of space and air integration for operators, the school added the Space Division in 1996.

With a growing need for weapons officers skilled at integrating all aspects of air and space power, the Weapons School has continued to expand. 2000 saw the addition of the E-8 JSTARS to the CCO Division. Special operations forces (SOF) also became part of the Weapons School in 2000, developing courses for the MH-53 and AC-130. Stealth joined the school in 2002 with the addition of the F- 117 and B-2 Divisions. SOF added an MC- 130 course that year as well. In 2003, all of the Weapons School divisions were re-designated (or initially activated) as squadrons. The Intelligence Sensor Weapons Instructor Course was added in 2003 to provide graduate-level training in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance integration.

Today's Weapons School encompasses 14 squadrons, teaching 18 combat specialties at 6 locations. Only 30% of today's students come from the classic fighter specialties which built the initial reputation of the 'patch." The 50+ year tradition of excellence associated with the Air Force Weapons School continues as today's graduates go to units worldwide to focus on the integration challenges of tomorrow.

(now back to our story)

As a lesson for all you alternates, patience can pay off. "Sling" (his call sign and what everyone know him as) finished the six month program along with four other F-15C pilots. (yes, that's right the USAF only sends 10 guys through the school every year and two of the ten come from the Guard or Reserves). As you can see from the description there are in fact a number of different courses and the 04B class graduated 82 students. In case you wondered, the 1 star Wing Commander told me they started with 91 students. Even the best of the best can flunk out. I had the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremony and banquet, along with 1100 other close friends, at the Las Vegas Flamingo Hilton in December. The graduation speaker was General Mosely, USAF Vice Chief of Staff, and former Weapons School instructor. He spoke about the need for Weapons Officers to be able to adapt, improvise and overcome. He offered Claire L. Chennault, a washed out retired US Army Aviator, who turned up as the head of the American Volunteer Group, AKA the Flying Tigers, as an example. He took cast off P-40's that no one wanted (the British refused to accept them)designed and built gun sights for them (the A model didn't have any sights) and took this handfull of aircraft up against the cream of the Japanese Air Force. For close to a year he was the only "US Force" actively taking the battle to the enemy in the Pacific. He developed tactics and improvised his cast off airplanes and held the enemy at bay until other allied forces battled their way back to the Pacific. In his mind, Claire L. Chennault was the first Weapons Officer in the Air Force.

Following his speech, General Mosley presented awards to the outstanding instructors and finally to the students. Each aircraft or specialty area in the Wing is set up as a Squadron. The F-15C squadron is the 433rd. I had dinner the night before his graduation with several of his fellow students and a couple of pilots form his Squadron in Alaska. They flew down for the ceremony. I saw them, and his instructors at a reception and cocktail hour before the dinner. I got lots of questions about my CAP mess dress, and had one of the guys refer to me as Lt Col Uncle John. I also got to meet a number of wives of both the students and the instructors at the school and everyone one of them told me what an outstanding and nice guy my nephew was.

Sling accepted his graduation certificate and Weapons School Graduate patch along with the other members of his class. In each Squadron, one officer is selected as the Honor Graduate. (can you say Iceman and Hollywood?). Much to the pleasure of his parents (and Uncle) Captain Tom "Sling" Bladen was selected as the Honor Graduate for the F-15C. He accepted the trophy from Gen Mosely and headed back to our table. Of course it took quite a while to shake 1100 hands on the way back to sit down.

After spending Christmas with his folks in Montana, Sling is back with his Squadron at Elmendorf in Alaska. He is still a modest, "nice" guy who loves what he does and the people he does it with. One, last thing, he was asked to come back to the school as an instructor upon completing his tour in Alaska. Yes, sometimes real life and fiction become blurred.