137th SOW graduates first special operations MC-12W combat systems officer

Published Oct. 27, 2016
By Senior Airman Kasey Phipps
137th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs

WILL ROGERS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Okla. -- An Airman of the 137th Special Operations Wing became the unit's first organically-grown MC-12W combat systems officer.

Second Lt. Brent Webb graduated, Oct. 14, 2016, from the combat systems officer school at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, making him the first since the wing joined Air Force Special Operations Command.

“I don’t really know what to think about being the first,” Webb said. “I’m just glad I got the job, finished the school and, now, I’m back to train with the other guys.”

Though the 137th SOW has MC-12 pilots and officers who transferred from Beale Air Force Base, California, along with the aircraft, Webb will be the first from the air refueling wing-turned-special operation wing to serve as a MC-12 CSO.

“The mission itself is just different, coming from refueling under the Air Mobility Command and going to the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission of AFSOC,” Webb said. “I have a background in aviation, so that helps out.”

A native of Weatherford, Oklahoma, Webb began his aviation career in 2001 as a C-130 Hercules loadmaster for the Oklahoma Air National Guard, then transitioned to become a boom operator on the KC-135 Stratotanker.

Webb’s wife and son are back in Oklahoma after going to Florida with him for CSO training, but she has some apprehension for his upcoming missions.

“I will be in more remote locations for deployments than what we’re used to with the KC-135s and for longer periods of time,” Webb said. “My wife is a little nervous about that, but we’ll be okay.”

Though Webb has not begun flying missions with Airmen in his unit here, he has been through more than a year of training, including officer training school, initial qualification training and mission qualification training.

In initial qualification training, students are taught and tested on general intelligence knowledge and tasks, while mission qualification training educates students on their roles within their unit’s specific mission.

“A lot of the school was navigation, which helps to transition from being a boom operator to being up front and listening to all of the radio calls,” Webb said. “There were also a lot of academics, and we were on the flight line for about four months of it.”

Now back in Oklahoma, Webb will progress toward being fully qualified in his position as a CSO.

“I’ll be running the sensors and working the radios on the MC-12 to communicate with ground forces by radio,” Webb said.

Though Webb doesn’t know what to expect going forward, he is excited for the new opportunity.

“I think I’ll really enjoy it,” he said.