The Supervisor of Flying, a pilot stationed in the control tower to oversee flight operations on the airfield, received a call from local emergency responders relaying reports of a loud boom and possible fireball.  A roll call of all airborne aircraft revealed one aircraft missing.  Officers around the base opened their Mishap Response Checklists.  An aircraft was down.

The controllers stopped all further launches and began the task of recovering other aircraft that were airborne; the assets of the base as well as the local community were now focused on the rescue and recovery of the downed aircraft and crew.  An air traffic controller guided an experienced pilot to the last known location of the aircraft, and the crash location was fixed.  Helicopters flown by local law enforcement and the US Marines were dispatched to the crash site.  Simultaneously, officers throughout the base began the procedures of securing all equipment associated with the flight–from the maintenance records of the aircraft to the pilot’s gradebook and records.  Ultimately, a commander would don his service dress uniform and request the accompaniment of a Chaplain.

Regrettably, the fighter pilot career field is a dangerous one.  In this case, the worst was realized and a pilot was lost.  This happens more often than many might think.  In 2009, the Air Force lost an F-15E, a T-38, more than one F-16, and even an F-22, among others.  In each, the pilot (and the WSO in the F-15E)–a husband, father, son, and brother–was lost.  The losses occur in training and combat, in complex sorties and simple ones.  They have a variety of causes, from mere pilot stupidity in some to unavoidable and unforeseen freaks of happenstance in others.  There is a risk to every flight; the mantra goes that if the Air Force wanted to avoid all risk (in order to avoid all losses), it could do so easily–by not flying a single aircraft.  Instead, the Air Force (and the military as a whole) recognizes that risk is inherent in the mission, but the nation demands that the mission be accomplished.

Fighter pilot bravado is stereotypical and, in large part, true.  However, even fighter pilots know the mortal costs of the tasks they accomplish.  The fighter pilot community is an elite group that many want to join because of the mission, the opportunity, and, yes, even the “cool” factor.  Such reward does not come without risk, however; those who yearn to be a fighter pilot should take heed.

The Christian faith is not a panacea to tragedy in any form.  Christian fighter pilots have been killed in crashes, and others have been left behind to explain “why.”  There are no easy answers.  Christians in the military, in whatever role they may be, must strive to live a life honoring to God in all they do, in their every day lives.  When tragedies occur, they often have to do nothing, because the example that they have lived causes others to seek them, as happened with then-Sgt, now US Army Chaplain, Jeff Struecker, of Blackhawk Down fame.