{"id":352488,"date":"2024-01-09T09:58:34","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T14:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/?post_type=features&p=352488"},"modified":"2024-01-09T10:36:29","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T15:36:29","slug":"rcaf-today-a-rewarding-military-pilot-exchange","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/features\/rcaf-today-a-rewarding-military-pilot-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"RCAF pilot flies U.S. Air Force C-17 in exchange program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As he guided the hull of a massive U.S. Air Force (USAF) Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft toward the fuel boom of a KC-135 Stratotanker, high above the clouds over Washington state last November, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Captain Jeremie Burney stifled his nerves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Temperatures hovered around freezing on a typically overcast day in the Pacific Northwest, and the Globemaster approached cautiously to refuel in mid-air. Its capped opening atop the giant, ghost-grey fuselage was open like a whale\u2019s yawning spiracle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burney recalls being tense, but keeping his composure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Capt Jeremie Burney has more than 1,000 hours on the RCAF’s CC-177 Globemaster III. Galen Burrows Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was pretty nervous,\u201d he said in an interview months later, from his home near Joint Base Lewis-McChord in western Washington, where the seasoned pilot from 429 Transport Squadron at 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario, is serving a three-year pilot exchange with the USAF. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLuckily, there\u2019s always a qualified instructor in the seat beside you, who\u2019s very closely monitoring your movements. But there is some hesitation to get very close, because you\u2019re literally touching another aircraft through the boom, in flight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was hesitant,\u201d he said. \u201cMy first attempt was not as good as what I\u2019ve been able to accomplish now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burney had more than 1,000 hours on Canada\u2019s similarly configured CC-177 Globemaster III before starting his USAF exchange in mid-2022, but had never participated in an air-to-air refuelling exercise to that point. Within a few months, it was a routine part of his skillset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always rewarding to learn a new skill on an aircraft that you know,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd really, it\u2019s just another capability of the C-17. It\u2019s been very rewarding to be able to learn that skill set and get more proficient at it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing expertise<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Canada and the U.S. have operated an Air Force pilot exchange program for many years, giving members on both sides of the border chances to learn new skills and share their expertise while soaking up a new culture on and off the air base. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really about promoting understanding and interoperability between the USAF and RCAF,\u201d said Burney, 34, who joined the RCAF in 2007 and has 10 years of military flying experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re able to exchange information a bit easier, because now we have those professional and personal relationships between members of different air forces. It really pulls the two countries closer together.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lining up a pilot exchange placement requires extensive flying experience, good timing and a bit of luck. The RCAF only sends fully qualified Globemaster pilots south of the border, and placements only appear every three years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Capt Jeremie Burney in the cockpit of a USAF C-17. Photo courtesy of Capt Burney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Burney joined 429 Squadron, he immediately developed a keen interest in the program. Thanks to hard work and good fortune, his career progression matched with the program\u2019s availability timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was offered the chance to go, and I didn\u2019t hesitate for a second,\u201d he said. Burney and his wife Jenna relocated to Washington with their four young children last year and settled into the rhythms of life in the USAF. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have always liked the idea of being able to go abroad, and just experiencing a different country, a different culture,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s just that sense of adventure, of going and doing something different with another air force, that really appealed to me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from learning and translating new military acronyms, and a bit of good-natured ribbing about his Canadian accent, the transition has been smooth. There are only minor differences between the Canadian and American versions of the C-17; the main one is the lack of extended-range tanks on some of the USAF aircraft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t really affect how it flies at the end of the day,\u201d said Burney. \u201cThey\u2019re very similar. We use the same set of technical orders published by Boeing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The USAF also uses its C-17s for low-level flying, a capability the RCAF typically doesn\u2019t implement. Burney quickly got up to speed, despite the steep learning curve. He spent hours practicing the manoeuvres in a simulator, then went to the USAF\u2019s C-17 schoolhouse at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma for a pilot check-out course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a lot to learn, initially,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then a lot of it is just hands-and-feet flying. So, trying to get those reps in. The first time you ever get that close to another aircraft in the air at 20,000 feet is pretty daunting, but eventually, through repetition, you get more comfortable and it\u2019s not quite as scary.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilot duties<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a fully qualified pilot, Burney is required to be ready to fly training missions with the USAF and to move large quantities of cargo overseas. The C-17 has enough carrying capacity for tanks and military helicopters, and frequently transports supplies to remote locations overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A C-17 Globemaster III flies behind a KC-135 Stratotanker during an aerial-refueling training exercise. Airman 1st Class Luke Milano Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the summer of 2023, Burney piloted a mission to Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, formerly known as Thule Air Base, the Pentagon\u2019s northernmost station. Pituffik is the traditional Inuit name for the settlement that previously occupied the land where the base is located. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always rewarding to see the impact you made,\u201d he said, recalling the sight of seeing base members picking up supplies off store shelves after the delivery. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to many more experiences here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the most rewarding things is being able to rep, not just the RCAF, but Canada, to the squadron and the wing here,\u201d he added. \u201cYou do stand out a little bit, having that Canadian flag on your shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first 12 months of his exchange, Burney flew additional missions to Australia, Peru, Kuwait and Germany, plus several domestic flights. As a member of one of three active squadrons from USAF 62nd Operations Group stationed at McChord, he continues to log hours in the simulator and guides newer pilots and loadmasters through training plans designed to help them climb the ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always working to get people upgraded to the next level, whether that be a brand-new pilot or loadmaster \u2014 we have to get them ready,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re always making sure that people are progressing and that we\u2019re able to provide that support to the members.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These duties are built upon a foundation of mutual respect between Canadian and American colleagues. Both Air Forces recognize the value in sharing knowledge and stretching outside their comfort zones to learn new skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey bring a ton of experience up to Canada for us, and we do some things differently,\u201d said Burney. \u201cWe fly a lot of cold weather, Far North operations, which they don\u2019t fly as much [in the U.S.]. We bring that expertise with us when we come on the exchange, and it\u2019s always been very respectful. There is a lot of mutual respect between the two countries.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flying the Globemaster<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a kid growing up in Turner Valley, Alberta, a town of about 2,000 people on the outskirts of Calgary, Burney dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many future aviators, movies like Top Gun<\/em> inspired him, as did CF-18 Hornet fly-bys and Canadian Forces Snowbirds demonstrations at the airshows he attended. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Cadets at age 12 as a member of 187 Foothills Squadron, and acquired glider pilot and private pilot licenses before studying aeronautical engineering at Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A seasoned air mobility pilot, Captain Jeremie Burney is learning new techniques to master the C-17 Globemaster III on a three-year exchange with the U.S. Air Force.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Back then, he wouldn\u2019t have predicted a career built around the C-17. Now, as one of Canada\u2019s most accomplished young pilots on that platform, he\u2019s grown comfortable with the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThings don\u2019t always go as planned,\u201d he said. \u201cMy initial goal wasn\u2019t to become a multi-engine air mobility pilot, but I\u2019m very happy with where my career has taken me to this point.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exchange program has stretched him, providing skills that will likely benefit him long into the future. After one year of a three-year placement, he\u2019s eager and excited to tackle new challenges ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just so much experience and knowledge in the USAF about the C-17,\u201d he said. \u201cTalking with instructors and evaluators here, and going into the simulator \u2014 there\u2019s many different techniques to do the same manoeuvre. Always learning a different way to do something, I find rewarding.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His next step is to qualify as a C-17 instructor pilot, and eventually bring that skill back to Canada to mentor the next wave of Canadian military aviators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always enjoy learning, so I\u2019m trying to soak up as much as I can while I\u2019m here,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd just the relationship between the two air forces, continuing that, I\u2019m very proud to be part of that lineage.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving thousands of kilometres to Washington from his previous home in eastern Ontario wasn\u2019t easy, particularly with four kids between the ages of two and eight. And Burney is quick to acknowledge the idea of an exchange can seem intimidating at first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I think it\u2019s a very rewarding experience,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I joined the Air Force, I never thought I would be flying with the USAF and flying C-17s, but it\u2019s been a great experience. I\u2019m glad I took the chance to do it. It\u2019s been great to represent Canada down here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A seasoned air mobility pilot, Captain Jeremie Burney is learning new techniques to master the C-17 Globemaster III on a three-year exchange with the U.S. Air Force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":289,"featured_media":352492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[15,1527],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-352488","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military","category-rcaf-today","entry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/352488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/features"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/289"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}