Hello, my name is Elvis Rusnak, and yes, I've heard all the "Elvis" jokes you might imagine! In real life, though, I'm a Staff Sergeant in the U. S. Air Force, and I serve as a loadmaster in the 71st Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base outside of Valdosta, Georgia. The squadron flys the HC-130 aircraft, a four engine, turboprop, high wing, cargo plane. Our primary task is combat search and rescue. My jobs include maintaining the systems in the back of the plane (hydraulic lines, anchor cables, locking mechanisms), positioning the cargo for weight balance, and monitoring the refueling processes. Because I really like what I do, I'd like to tell you how I got here, and what a typical 'mission day' looks like for me.

I grew up south of Pittsburgh, and I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I grew up. Although I wasn't exposed much to airplanes or the Air Force, I did know that I wanted to fly some day. After I graduated from high school, I worked a number of jobs for a while, including specialized construction and working at a home for people with special needs. The home I worked at was in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Fort Walton Beach is home to one of the largest Air Force Bases in the country, Eglin Air Force Base. On a clear day, there are always lots of planes in the air!

I met a man who was retired from the Air Force, and we talked a lot about it. When he realized how much I wanted to fly, he encouraged me to consider joining the Air Force. The only job I thought I'd be interested in was as a pilot, but you had to have a college degree to become an Air Force pilot. While I was a good student in high school, going to college then was not possible for me. That's when he told me that there were other jobs on the flying crews that didn't require a college degree! When he described the duties of the loadmaster, I was sold. I'd work hand-in-hand with the pilots and navigators, I'd be 'in charge' in the back of the plane, and I'D GET TO FLY!

So, I enlisted in the Air Force. Since I was a pretty good student, I did really well on the Air Force tests. I had enlisted under the open-general category, and planned to get the loadmaster slot. I did so well on the tests that the Air Force wanted to put me into a high tech, secret position, but I held out for the loadmaster position. I really wanted to fly! The loadmaster job required high math scores, which I had, so after some grumbling by the personnel people, I got the job. I've been in for about 8 years now, and I LOVE it! I know I sound like one of their commercials, but all their slogans about meeting new people and going new places have been true for me. I have visited 27 different countries and met people from all over. And the more people I meet, the more I realize that we are all the same.

Enough about the Air Force, let me tell you about a typical 'mission day.' First, you have to realize that this 'day' may start in the mid-afternoon if we're doing a night mission. The entire air crew meets for a 20-30 minute briefing 3 hours before takeoff. We'll discuss the mission, cover important safety items, and run through some mock emergencies and the required emergency procedures. The officers (the pilots and navigators) will go off to do the mission planning, and we enlisted crew members go to ready the plane. As loadmaster, I'm responsible for overseeing the operational systems in the back of the plane. I usually spend 30-40 minutes running through all the systems and checking everything out. I also check out the safety equipment and the parachutes, as well as any special needs, such as cold-weather gear. It's my job also to anchor all the cables for the loads.

A good portion of my work, 60-70%, involves good math skills. I'm the one who does all the load distribution in the back of the plane. I think of it as a teeter-totter: I have to balance the weight of the aircraft and the fuel tanks with the aerodynamic loads on the wings. When you add to this the possibility of dropping significant weight out the back of the airplane, you have a tough math problem to do! Although the plane looks very big, if you're dropping a large sled of supplies or 20 special forces parajumpers who each weigh between 200 and 275 pounds out the back of the plane, you WILL feel the motion of the plane change as the weight moves back and out! It's my job to position the weight initially, manage it throughout the drop (the release pattern), and let the pilots know when the weight is leaving the plane so that they can compensate for the change in aircraft handling. In the course of my planning, I may do 5-6 pages of division - longhand!

Some missions, like the refueling for helicopters (see the picture), are fairly easy. During the refueling, I sit at the open ramp and watch the helicopters. On training missions, we practice different ways to signal back and forth to the helicopters, as well as ways to signal the pilots. On some missions, we must maintain radio silence; on others we have to be careful with lights. So we practice different manners of communication. Other missions may be more difficult to plan. If we are flying very heavy, loaded down with fuel or cargo, my window of balance for the center of gravity of the aircraft may only be 6 INCHES wide. On a plane that is over 83 feet long (1000 inches) with a wingspan of 50 feet (600 inches) and a fuselage that is 12 feet wide (144 inches), that means I must be very accurate!

My career is very rewarding for me, and I plan to stay in it for a full 20 years. I'm currently working on an Associate's degree in Aircrew Operations through the Community College of the Air Force, and I plan to get a degree in physical therapy before I get out of the Air Force to use after I retire. I really enjoy the traveling I've done. I've done 6 rotations, or tours, in Saudi Arabia, and I've visited 27 countries so far. I want to see more!

Questions for Elvis:

What is your educational background?
High School Diploma
Working towards an AA degree in Aircrew Operations, CCAF