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Former pilot now helps guide jets from the ground

Jul-28-2007 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

By Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and Stripes

Capt. Pete Johnson used to spend part of his workday in the cockpit of an F-16, flying in the skies of northern Japan.

Now, he’s more likely to be holding a cup of coffee than a flight control stick while on the job. But his days are still long and arguably more intense.

Johnson, 27, is an air liaison officer in Iraq. His job is to advise Army brigade commanders on the use of close-air support, the kind provided to ground troops by F-16s deployed to Iraq from the 13th Fighter Squadron at Misawa Air Base, Japan, and other aircraft.

Johnson, who calls Fort Collins, Colo., home, is a former 13th Fighter Squadron “Panther” himself. He was assigned to Misawa from 2003 to 2006.

After he was medically grounded from flying, Johnson became an air liaison officer, an “easy selection” because it meant he was still deployable, Johnson said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes.

The job is one of the few options available to F-16 pilots or any rated fighter or bomber aircrew starting their first assignment out of the cockpit following their first or second operational tour, he said.

At one time, there were four former 35th Fighter Wing pilots from Misawa working in Iraq as air liaison officers, Johnson said.

“I am on the ground with the Army brigade headquarters, and I am on the brigade staff,” said Johnson, who supports the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, at Forward Operating Base Warhorse in Diyala province. “I live with them, work in their facilities, and even wear their uniform.”

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