LEAVEN YOUTH MEET WITH SOME AIR FORCE ONE PILOTS
In past years, the idea of kids at The Leaven getting to meet Air Force One pilots in person would have been unthinkable due to California being on the opposite side of the country from Joint Base Andrews, the home base of the presidential aircraft.
However, with the advent of Zoom, kids at the nonprofit — which offers mentoring, tutoring, and after-school care — got to directly ask questions of four pilots tasked with transporting the president and other important figures to places throughout the world.
Mark Lillis, executive director of The Leaven, said Tuesday’s virtual meeting, was set up by Gen. Maryanne Miller, an honorary board member at The Leaven and a former commander of the 349th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base. She has used her resources to connect the kids at The Leaven with various figures, including Mandy Vaughn, the president of Vox Space who talked about Virgin Orbit CEO Richard Branson’s efforts to bring a satellite into space.
For the second part of the series, Miller was able to connect the kids with four pilots with the 1st Airlift Squadron of the 89th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to talk about their experiences in transporting the president and other top officials. The event even drew appearances back home from local officials like Fairfield Mayor Harry Price, Solano County Supervisor Mitch Mashburn, Fairfield Police Chief Deanna Cantrell and Col. David Hammerschmidt, a retired commander at Travis AFB.
Miller, who was Zooming in from Ohio, said in her introduction that the virtual meeting was a good reminder to the youth at The Leaven that they can do anything they set their minds to — including becoming an Air Force One pilot.
“Your life is unlimited as to what you can do and be when you get older,” she said. “The Leaven is providing you with that foundation to be the great little person you are and the great adult you’re gonna be.”
Plus, Miller said, it was a great opportunity to learn about the important work of the 89th Airlift Wing.
“Moving the president around is a pretty big deal,” she said.
With that, Miller turned her Zoom mic over to the four Air Force One pilots: Majors Marlena Carrillo, San El-Amin, Kyle Foley and Andrew Na. All shared facts about themselves, such as Na growing up in Honolulu, Carrillo being only 5’3 but dispensing the wisdom that “If you work hard and know what you have to do, anybody can fly a plane” regardless of height, Foley flying his first plane when he was 12 and El-Amin being stationed at Travis for five years and volunteering at the Nut Tree Airport where he brought kids aboard planes for short flights.
“Everything looks a lot better and a lot more real from the sky when you’re up in the air on a plane,” he said.
The kids got to ask questions of the pilots, including a boy named Anthony who asked what they liked most about Air Force One. El-Amin said it was the simple fact it was the plane the
president travels on.
“They fly all over the world to different countries and land in different places, and they do that to have conversations with other countries’ leaders,” he said.
Na added that it was a great experience to see powerful leaders in person and have the realization of “Wow, I have a big responsibility of taking a very important person safely from one location to another.”
A Leaven member named Sebastian asked if parts for the aircraft were created on 3D printers. Na said Joint Base Andrews was working toward that and already have machines being tested to print metal parts and carbon fiber.
“We’re trying to foster innovation,” he said.
A girl named Natalia
asked if the vice president also flew on Air Force One. Carrillo said that any time Kamala Harris is aboard a plane, it is referred to as Air Force Two.
“She gets to fly on a special plane, just like the president,” she said. “That airplane is called Air Force Two, regardless of what kind of airplane it is.”
Atziri Castillo, 8 of Fairfield asked how often the president flies aboard Air Force One. Foley said that any time Joe Biden flies, Air Force One provides all his travel needs.
“The president has a very busy schedule, so we have enough pilots and enough airplanes to be able to support the president’s schedule,” he said.
This led to a question from Mashburn, who asked how
Biden was able to transport things like presidential limousines and podiums when he flies to other countries. ElAmin said this was all done aboard a C-17 Globemaster, such as those stationed at Travis. In fact, he related a story from when he was at Travis in 2015 supporting a trip to Laos by then-President Barack Obama.
“I was actually on one of the C-17s that was able to transport his limo all the way to Laos, which is on the other side of the world, so he could make sure he had transportation when he got there on the ground,” he said. The crew had also delivered goodie bags to the students which were distributed by the officials at the Fairfield site. The bags contained items that had been aboard Air Force One, including presidential Hershey’s Kissed and M&M’s, presidential cups, fidget spinners, and Sam Fox Tshirts.
“You’re doing the heavy lifting, and I’ve got the light work here,” Price joked.
Price also asked the kids how many of them wanted to become pilots or president. A couple of hands came up for both. Lillis said he hoped kids came away with a better understanding of the military and an appreciation of their service. He also hoped it would inspire them to stay in school and excel in the sciences.
“It’s such a needed profession,” he said.