The Wingman concept Published June 29, 2015 By Col. James Boster 14th Operations Group Commander COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- I know you are looking forward to the upcoming 4th of July weekend as much as I am. Your supervisor or commander should give you some type of safety pitch before you depart that will cover safety topics, emphasize staying out of trouble and likely mention something about being a good wingman. What exactly is a good wingman? All too often, I leave wingman day feeling like my elementary school teacher just briefed us to hold hands and make sure to look both ways before crossing the street. As a tactical aviator, I view being a wingman completely different. The wingman concept comes from the tactical aviation community. The smallest fighting element used in the fighter community is a formation of two aircraft, or a two-ship. The primary reason for this is mutual support, which has many considerations, but the two main ones are to have an extra set of eyeballs to watch each other's back, and to have an additional jet airborne in case something goes wrong. When you have an engine that catches on fire, it is your wingman that pulls up next to you and surveys the damage while reading the steps in the checklist to get you home safely. When all of your instruments fail and the weather is bad, it is your wingman who leads you home through the weather with you tucked in on his wing. Your wingman is the guy who shoots the bandit that rolled in behind you into your six o'clock that you didn't see. It is the strongest form of teamwork to ensure everyone makes it back to base to fight another day. One of my favorite wingman stories is known as Pardo's Push. After attacking the steel mills in North Vietnam, both F-4s in the flight received significant battle damage. As the flight lead, Captain Bob Pardo noticed that his wingman, Captain Aman, was leaking fuel. As the flight climbed to preserve fuel, it quickly became apparent that his wingman did not have enough gas to get out of North Vietnam. They both knew if he ejected over North Vietnam his chances for rescue were minimal, but the likelihood of being a Prisoner of War was high. Captain Pardo had enough fuel remaining in his F-4 to make it to the tanker, but refused to leave his wingman behind. Instead, he had Capt Aman lower his tailhook and Captain Pardo proceeded to push him with the nose of his F-4 until both aircraft were over Thailand and clear of North Vietnam. Both crews ejected over Thailand, were rescued, and both lived to fight another day. These are the stories I think of when I think of being a good wingman, and I would offer that the concept applies to every Airman. Watch each other's back and use teamwork to ensure everyone makes it to work the following day. Captain Pardo more than likely could have safely recovered his airplane, but his wingman would have been a loss. In our business, winning 100-1 isn't good enough. The goal will always be 100-0 as the one loss is someone's son or daughter and part of our team. We lose more Airmen on and off duty in non-combat situations than we do in actual combat. This is where you can help. Be a good wingman. It is not elementary school teacher talk; it is the ultimate form of teamwork Airmen use to take care of each other on and off the battlefield, in both peace and war. Be an American Airman. Be a wingman, leader, warrior ... and never leave an Airman behind.
