{"id":26025,"date":"2024-08-22T21:33:35","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T21:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/air-force-pilot-flies-fini-mission-in-c-17-brings-it-to-farmington\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:31:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:31:42","slug":"air-force-pilot-flies-fini-mission-in-c-17-brings-it-to-farmington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/air-force-pilot-flies-fini-mission-in-c-17-brings-it-to-farmington\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force Pilot flies \u2018fini mission\u2019 in C-17, brings it to Farmington"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Lt.
Lt. Col. Joe Aubert, aircraft commander of a C-17, brought his crew to Farmington on Aug. 14 for a \u201cfini mission\u201d as he prepared to retire from the U.S. Air Force Reserves. (Brad Ryan\/Special to the Tri-City Record)<\/span>Brad Ryan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

When a C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane made an appearance over Farmington on Aug. 14, calls came into the Four Corners Regional Airport wondering what was happening.<\/p>\n

The plane, piloted by Lt. Col. Joe Aubert of Farmington, was on a \u201cfini mission\u201d for Aubert, who is retiring after a 20-year career with the U.S. Air Force. Aubert, who teaches pilots, also used the opportunity to use the airport for training.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a celebration; you\u2019re flying your last mission,\u201d Aubert said in a phone interview delayed until a few days after the event, because he had to get permission from the U.S. Air Force.<\/p>\n

The Spirit of Rosie the Riveter\u2019s arrival at the airport brought out more than 300 people hoping to catch a glimpse of the giant aircraft. Then, Aubert gave them a special and rare treat by opening up the C-17 and allowing the public on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis plane is really impressive,\u201d said Ben Lyons, one of Aubert\u2019s best friends. \u201cThe community is proud to have an event like this, and the community is proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyons said Aubert is in the top 1% in the Air Force.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that the military allowed him to bring the C-17 here is a testament to him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Aubert has more than 5,000 hours flying the C-17, and he even attended C-17 weapons school, which is the C-17 version of Top Gun, and he left his family for 10 months to go through the program.<\/p>\n

\"A
A C-17 piloted by Lt. Col. Joe Aubert of Farmington soars through the sky above Farmington.<\/span>Brad Ryan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Aubert grew up in Albuquerque and graduated from the University of New Mexico, where he was involved in ROTC. He graduated in 2004 and went to Holloman Air Force Base to earn his pilot\u2019s license.<\/p>\n

Then, Aubert went to Mann\u2019s Air Force Base, where he received his Air Force wings, after graduating from Undergraduate Pilot Training. The next training he completed was a two-part, six-month series, where he learned to fly a jet, a business jet and then competed for the ability to fly a C-17.<\/p>\n

\u201cUPT \u2013 that was the most intense, hardest year of my life,\u201d Aubert said. \u201cIt has about a 15% attrition rate because of the screening process to get you there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he was \u201csupersaturated with information\u201d and \u201csimulating academics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou learn to fly an airplane. You learn to fly an airplane the military way,\u201d Aubert said.<\/p>\n

Aubert became certified to fly the C-17 at Atlus Air Force Base, where he was No. 2 in his class and was able to be stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, where he stayed for four years.<\/p>\n

After Hawaii, Aubert was stationed in Tacoma, Washington, and then, \u201cI went and taught pilot training for two years at Vance Air Force Base,\u201d he said, adding he completed the second phase of UPT for flying a T-1 aircraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been to 125 countries and every continent. That\u2019s the most amazing part of flying that aircraft \u2013 is the global reach of it,\u201d Aubert said. \u201cI\u2019ve flown around the world four times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Aubert
Aubert opened the aircraft to more than 300 people, who wanted to experience of walking into the cargo bay of the giant C-17. (Brad Ryan\/Special to the Tri-City Record)<\/span>Brad Ryan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The purpose of the C-17 is to carry \u201coutsized or secret cargo,\u201d Aubert said. \u201cWhen we would move into a combat zone or a dangerous place, we would transport personnel. If it was too unsafe for an aircraft carrier to go to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other things the C-17 is known for supporting presidential movements, carrying large military equipment and people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt literally touches every area of the Earth,\u201d Aubert said, adding it was used for evacuations in Kabul and provides humanitarian aid such as food and water when there are natural disasters.<\/p>\n

In all his years of flying, Aubert said there were a few memorable events including flying the National Science Foundation to Antarctica to McMurdo Air Station and being in Northern Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took bullets and tracers from a heavy machine gun and all the bullets went through the airplane and took out the number four engine on a heavy weight departure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe purpose of the C-17 is its designed for short field landings and takeoff,\u201d Aubert said, this is one of the reasons training at Four Corners Regional Airport is good for the pilots onboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe intently go all over the U.S. and the world to train to prepare us to go to any airfield or environment,\u201d Aubert said, adding Farmington\u2019s airport is a \u201chigh-altitude, hot, short field airport, and we seek out places like that for the proficiency of our pilots refueling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aubert added, \u201cWhen we come to airports it\u2019s good for the airport. We\u2019re using the airport and buying their gasoline.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The C-17 crew performed touch-and-go landings on the airfield at the Four Corners Regional Airport as part of training exercises on Aug. 14. (Brad Ryan\/Special to the Tri-City Record)<\/span>Brad Ryan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Airport Manager Mike Lewis said the airport is required to allow the military to use the facility for training because it is an FAA licensed airport, and the military likes it because it simulates airfields in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of airfields in the Middle East have similar terrain and altitude. We\u2019re 5,500 feet above sea level,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cIt allows these people to practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aubert and his crew doing touch-and-go maneuvers, which consist of a \u201cfull landing, add power and takeoff,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n

Aubert has been flying with the Air Force Reserves since 2017, which also allowed him to become a commercial pilot for Delta Air Lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked as a full-time pilot flying as first officer on (Boeing) 767 and 757 airplanes,\u201d he said, adding he is now captain of the Airbus A321.<\/p>\n

Now that he is retiring from the Reserves he will work for Delta full-time flying out of Los Angeles International Airport. \u201cTwelve to 14 days a month \u2013 that\u2019s considered a full schedule,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Aubert said he looked at his time in the Air Force as service, and that will translate into the next phase of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou serve your country, you serve the people you work with, as a professional pilot I\u2019m working on my craft to become the best professional pilot I can be, and I\u2019m training pilots,\u201d Aubert said. \u201cIt gives me satisfaction to do that and be a servant leader.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Aubert will switch to commercial jets as a Delta Air Lines pilot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-26025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26025"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79192,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26025\/revisions\/79192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26025"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=26025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}