High-flying adventure a hit with sheriff

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Chester County Sheriff Carolyn "Bunny" Welsh enjoys the view at 22,000 feet in a Boeing C-135. Photo courtesy of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR)

It wasn’t until after Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh returned to terra firma that she got an inkling that a recent adventure had come with an element of peril.

A radar plane lines up for the refueling during a mission that was part of the Bosslift program, which aims to familiarize employers with the training reservists receive.
A radar plane lines up for the refueling during a mission that was part of the Bosslift program, which aims to familiarize employers with the training reservists receive.

Welsh participated in the Defense Department’s Bosslift program, which gives employers insight into military installations by having them accompany National Guard and Reserve members during training exercises. Her stint involved a refueling mission on a Boeing C-135 Stratolifter.

She said one of the reservists she knows was eager to hear about her experience and said: “You do realize that, other than combat, that’s one of the most dangerous assignments … You’re basically in a flying torch that could go up with one wrong move.”

Welsh said the revelation gave her pause only momentarily. “It’s really exciting and enlightening,” she said. Asked whether she would have made the trip if she had been armed with that information in advance, she didn’t hesitate: “Absolutely.”

She said she believes the Bosslift program effectively delivers on its promise to enable employers to see what some of their employees do when they get called into service. “It’s really a wonderful way to see how they train,” she said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”

Welsh has six reservists on her staff. Right now, one of them is in Africa, and another is departing soon for Cuba, she said.

The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) hosted a boss lift for local civilian employers at Joint Base Andrews, Md. on May 14, 2015. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Airman 1st  Class Sumeana Leslie)
The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) hosts a boss lift for local civilian employers at Joint Base Andrews, Md. Chester County Sheriff Carolyn "Bunny" Welsh is shown with retired Army Brigadier Gen. Lawrence Gillespie and Tom Bullock, the ESGR coordinator.  U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Sumeana Leslie.

The Pennsbury Township resident said she reported at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 14, at Andrews Air Force Base for a briefing followed by breakfast. Then she and the other seven guests boarded the plane, where they were seated along a wall. “It was more comfortable than a regular plane because we had plenty of leg room,” Welsh added.

The three-hour mission took them to Tennessee at an altitude of 22,000 feet where the “receiver,” an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) radar plane had to line up perfectly to connect to the hose that delivered the fuel. Welsh said at one point she was next to the boom operator, a 31-year-old reservist lying on his stomach orchestrating the connection in absolute silence. “We were so close, I could see faces in the other plane,” she said.

“There’s no room for error,” Welsh said. “The speed, the alignment, has to be exactly right. It seemed almost surreal.”

Welsh said once the refueling was completed, the boom operator asked: “Having fun yet, sheriff?” Then he slid over and let her take his place so she could have the full experience. Welsh said she was so impressed with the operator’s skill that she offered him a job if he ever comes to Pennsylvania.

Participants in the Bosslift program prepare to deplane after a refueling mission in Tennessee.
Participants in the Bosslift program prepare to deplane after a refueling mission in Tennessee.

Back at the base, Welsh said the group received a de-briefing before being dismissed. Then the real challenge began, she said.

“I wasn’t sure I was ever going to find my way out of the base,” she said. “It’s a whole city.”

Welsh said she is grateful for the opportunity and her advice to anyone else who gets the offer is to seize it. In the meantime, she learned that one Bosslift mission involves landing on an aircraft carrier.

“Sign me up for that one,” she said.

 

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