Celebrated career ends

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  After being there for so many others on their final flights, it was finally Senior Master Sgt. Sara Galvin's turn.

On a cold and -- as is so often the case at Travis -- windy morning, the woman, one of the few career-enlisted female aviators to achieve the rare feat of 10,000 flying hours, enjoyed her final trip as a member of the United States Air Force Jan. 8.

Her 28-year Air Force career ends with a retirement ceremony at 2 p.m. today at the 9th Air Refueling Squadron auditorium at 515 Hickam Ave.

The final flight was both "absolutely amazing" and "bittersweet," said Sergeant Galvin, a flight engineer for the 9th ARS.

More than 50 members of the base community greeted and congratulated Sergeant Galvin when she returned.

The weather, however, made for an unexpectedly chilly reception, Sergeant Galvin said.
As is the traditional on fini flights, despite the blowing wind and temperatures in the low 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the flight engineer was drenched with water as she exited the aircraft.

As she was wiping the water from her eyes, a bottle of champagne was poured over her head.

"So then my hair was matted and I was freezing," she said with a laugh. "But I wouldn't change it."

Lt. Col. Ken Moss, the acting commander of the 9th ARS who was on hand for her arrival, said Sergeant Galvin is impossible to replace.

"She has done more for the KC-10 than probably anybody except Gen. Arthur Lichte," he said, referring to the former leader of Air Mobility Command who retired in November 2009.

Colonel Moss said as an instructor, she "has really mentored an entire generation of folks for the better."

"It's telling how many people showed up for her fini flight," he said. "She left a legacy at Travis and in the KC-10 community."

On the flight with her was Lt. Col. Daniel Leverson, a member of the 70th Air Refueling Squadron who Sergeant Calvin flew with as a captain. Before exiting the plane, Colonel Leverson parked the aircraft as he taxied on the flightline to take a chance to give Sergeant Galvin a gift and thank her for her service to the country.

"I raised him from a PUP -- that's Pilot Upgrade Program," she joked.

Also with her on the flight was Master Sgt. Tom Stirnitzke, 70th ARS, her first-ever instructor on the KC-10.

The fini flight was the culmination of a 28-year career that began as a maintainer for B-52s and KC-135s at the now-closed Castle Air Force Base in 1982 near Merced, Calif.

Later, Sergeant Galvin was a crewmember on the first C-130 to land in Panama during Operation Just Cause. Other assignments have sent her to Iraq, Somalia, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

When the KC-10 program launched in the 1990s, Sergeant Galvin crosstrained into the flight engineer field.

In addition to her medals and other commendations, Sergeant Galvin, who's been stationed at Travis since 1994, was named the 9th ARS' senior NCO of the year in 2007 and its NCO of the year in 1996.

One of her most significant milestones came in July 2009, when Sergeant Galvin reached 10,000 flying hours -- equivalent to being in the air continuously from now until late February 2011.

"I was lucky every single day," she said about her time in the Air Force. "I hope I was a leader and a mentor."
Sergeant Galvin is a few classes away from earning a master's degree in business administration.

Her plans for retirement from the Air Force are, as of yet, undetermined, but she's entertaining the possibility of sticking with airplanes.

"The Air Force has been my family for 28 years," she said. "It's always hard to say goodbye to family."