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Rotary pilot in a jet world

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Larry Carpenter
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Flying fifty feet above the ground in a helicopter is a terrifying experience for some, but for Lt. Col. Brian Bell, 36th Rescue Flight commander, it is just another character-building experience that makes him the officer he is today.

Colonel Bell has 70 hours of combat flying time through two tours in Afghanistan and one tour in Iraq, including low-level flying and flying at night with the assistance of night-vision goggles.

"It was a very rewarding time because I continued to learn so much, especially going into that type of environment," said Colonel Bell. "I got to be a mission commander for an Air Force and Army task force in Afghanistan doing quick-reaction force type operations."

Born in Missouri but raised in Northeast Oklahoma, Colonel Bell was raised with a strong work ethic spurred by his father, who encouraged him to work hard for what he wanted. Colonel Bell hammers the point home when he reflects back to when he was 10 years old.

"I started mowing yards when I was 10," said Colonel Bell. "I told my dad I wanted a bike and he said, 'Mower, gas can ... Put them together and go hustle up.'"

During the colonel's junior year of high school, upon persuasion from an uncle in the Air Force he decided he wanted to go to the Air Force Academy and become a pilot.

The desire to become a pilot was there, but to achieve that goal the colonel would have to take a road less traveled. After being turned down by the Air Force Academy, Colonel Bell forged ahead and decided to attend the ROTC program at Oklahoma State University and get a degree in aviation aerospace management.

After four years and one semester in the ROTC program, Colonel Bell had a degree, a commission and a pilot slot. The Air Force told him he would attend flight school in six months. Then Desert Storm hit.

"After Desert Storm they decided they were going to cut back airframes so I sat there commissioned, working at Wal-Mart unloading trucks at night," Colonel Bell said.

The Air Force offered a solution to Colonel Bell's situation.

"They told me, 'You didn't get a pilot slot. You can either get out of the Air Force or come in as an officer in a different career field' ... I decided I was going to take my four-year obligation and serve my country because that's what I had been ready to do since graduation."

The Air Force placed the colonel in the operations adjutant career field and shipped him to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.

Finally in 1995, the Air Force decided that Colonel Bell would go to flight school at the Joint Primary Air Training System in Pensacola, Fla. Colonel Bell completed the year-long training and was told he would be flying helicopters.

After spending three years at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., Colonel Bell received a slot to fly the MH-53 Pave Low for special operations. Through all his missions in special operations, the colonel said that his Iraq deployment topped off the whole experience.

"I was on two missions the first night that helped open up the doors for everybody to come across and get as far as they did," he said. "One mission was seizing the oil facility on the Al-Faw Peninsula, where we spent some time stuck in a landing zone."

When the colonel looks back at some of the highlights of his career, there are many things that draw his attention. But one thing that stands out most is meeting his wife.

"If I didn't choose to become a helicopter pilot, I never would have been stationed at Malmstrom and I never would have met my wife," said Colonel Bell.

Colonel Bell recently added a career highlight when the 36th RQF team received the Air Education and Training Command nomination for the Mackay Trophy, which is awarded for the most meritorious flight of the year by an Air Force individual, crew or organization.

"It's just an extreme honor, and I know when we all found out we were extremely humble about the whole thing," he said. "I was very surprised but happy that people got a glimpse of what we actually do out here."

As for what he does on his free time, the colonel said with a laugh, "Wow. Free time out there - I was unaware of that."

When not at work, the colonel can be found volunteering with the Make a Wish Foundation, playing video games with the Airmen, watching cartoons or out on the field playing sports.

The colonel is dedicated to his career and though he finds time to enjoy the small things in life, he spends a great part of his time ensuring his mission is accomplished.