An unlikely meeting of past and present
By Second Lieutenant Johnelle Burrill
The odds of meeting someone from Hawai‘i drops significantly the further east you travel within the Continental United States, which makes it highly unlikely that I would have met someone from my home state in Pensacola, Florida. So being 4,300 miles away from Hawai‘i you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that there were six of us living within a mile of each other on Naval Air Station Pensacola. This was even more special because we all received our officer’s commission from the same Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) detachment at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and were now training to become Air Force Combat Systems Officers (CSO).
Many Air Force aircrafts have a CSO onboard who works with the pilot to achieve the mission aspect of the flight to include dropping bombs and firing missiles, conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, jamming enemy radars and communication systems or delivering cargo or humanitarian aid. Today, there are nearly 4,000 CSOs across the Air Force who are flying sorties across the globe to include nuclear deterrence missions and combat operations in the Middle East. They are a critical component of the Air Force’s ability to fly, fight and win. One of those combat-proven CSOs is a 1995 graduate of University of Hawai‘i.
Colonel John Edwards is the current commander of the 479th Flying Training Group at NAS Pensacola. A native of O‘ahu, he received his degree from UH Mānoa and completed CSO training here in NAS Pensacola in 1996. He has achieved a considerable amount during the past twenty years. He served as a B-52H electronic warfare officer and instructor who flew combat missions in 1999 during the Kosovo Conflict. Later, he graduated from the Air Force’s elite Weapons School “Top Gun” program where he then became a weapons instructor who is the one aviator responsible of ensuring an Air Force flying squadron is combat ready.
Following the attacks on 9/11, he deployed and flew combat missions over Afghanistan, returning home for a prestigious assignment for Air Force officers at the Pentagon where he also received his master’s degree from George Washington University. While there, he served under numerous senior military and civilian leaders. He returned as an instructor at the Air Force Weapons School then completed two additional master’s degrees in military art and science and national security studies. He later served as an Air and Space strategist for US Central Command before commanding a B-52 squadron that deployed to the Pacific and was named best B-52 squadron in the Air Force. After which he completed a National Defense Fellowship in Washington, D.C. before serving on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Today, he commands nearly 800 personnel and 45 aircraft valued at $300 million. Nevertheless, he still teaches, instructs and mentors the 450 CSO students here in Pensacola to include the small handful who graduated from UH Mānoa.
At a recent unit picnic, all six of us sat down to share memories of Hawai‘i and bonded over our similar backgrounds and the goal to serve our country. Second Lieutenants Christian Jensen, Nicholas Sugai, Brandon Raines and myself graduated in 2014 and Second Lieutenant Chase Smith commissioned in 2015. Colonel Edwards was active in the UH French Club, intramural volleyball, Aloha United Way and Air Force ROTC during his time at UH Mānoa. He fondly told us about his time spent studying in Keller Hall and the Air Force ROTC Building on Lower Campus road where a large rock is often painted as a spirit mission. With perspectives spanning a generation, we had the opportunity as new lieutenants to look into our future while ‘talking story’ with Colonel Edwards. He provided precious insight and gave us all hope that we could emerge from our humble roots and flourish in our new career field. When I graduated from UH Mānoa in 2014, I would have found it hard to believe that I could find a little piece of home here in Pensacola. Instead, I found a Hawai‘i bond that transcends generations.
Note: Since completing this article, four students have graduated and received their CSO wings. Lt. Sugai is flying the RC-135 electronic surveillance aircraft. Lt. Jensen graduated in April and was selected to fly the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter. Lt. Raines will be going on to fly the MC-130J and Lt. Burrill will follow in Colonel Edwards footsteps flying the B-52 Stratofortress bomber.