Wing commander takes final flight before departure

Col. Corey Martin, 60th Air Mobility Wing commander, received a warm, but wet welcome from his wife and children upon completing his "fini flight" at Travis AFB, Calif., Feb. 17, 2015. Martin has been the wing commander since August 2014, and will soon begin his new assignment in South Korea. (U.S. Air Force photo/Ken Wright)

Published Feb. 19, 2015
By Senior Airman Nicole Leidholm
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- "The time for reflection will come later," said Col. Corey Martin, 60th Air Mobility Wing commander. "Today was just fun."

On Tuesday, Martin flew his final flight with the 21st Airlift Squadron before departing Travis Air Force Base, Calif., this weekend to Korea where he will take over as Special Assistant to Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, Commander of United Nations Command / Combined Forces Command / U.S. Forces Korea.

His morning started off in the mission planning room where Maj. Brendan Hopkins, 21st AS instructor pilot and aircraft commander for the mission, briefed Martin on the day's flight plan before heading out to the C-17 Globemaster III.

After pre-flight checks and take-off, Martin and crew met up with a KC-10 Extender near the Northern California and Oregon border where he refueled for 21 minutes, his longest career refuel.

"I didn't intend it to be that long," Martin said. "But in the middle I just thought of a number and it was 21, to pay tribute to the squadron."

Martin said when pilots are training they only need to refuel for five minutes while operationally they refuel for ten to 12 minutes.

Following the refuel, Martin performed low-level maneuvers around the Tahoe and Reno areas.

"It's good practice for the pilots," said Maj. Virgil Steele, 21st AS instructor pilot. "They fly as low as 300 feet at 310 knots. They have timed entry and exit points and sometimes we call out fake threat calls and the pilot must react appropriately."

The low-level maneuvers help mitigate threats in real world situations, according to Steele.

"We use the terrain to mask the aircraft from being seen by radar and infrared," Steele said. "It really helps hone airmanship skills."

Finally, Martin completed several assault landings before finally touching down one last time at Travis, greeted by family and friends and being sprayed down with water, a long-standing final flight tradition.

"Col. Martin did great up there," Hopkins said. "When you have this much flight experience, it comes second nature."

Martin will relinquish command to Col. Joel Jackson, former 22nd Air Refueling Wing commander at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., at 10 a.m. Friday in hangar P-14.