From farm kid to F-22 pilot

A teacher takes great pride in having a student do well in life. Possibly your old columnist might qualify as a teacher because over the past 62 years, I have taught both men and ladies to fly all sorts of aircraft. I have been privileged to help airline pilots, crop sprayers, instructors, Air Force pilots and those who simply wish to fly for enjoyment in their journey to learn.

During last week’s FFA (Future Farmers of America) convention in Lincoln, one of the featured speakers was my former student named Lance Wach, from rural Hayes Center, a farm kid. Lance is presently a Major flying the top-ranked jet fighter aircraft, the F-22, out of Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska.

Lance drew a thoughtful connection between his upbringing and his career in aviation, explaining how driving a tractor alongside a moving combine during harvest sharpened the awareness and precision required to fly in formation. In high school, he was deeply involved in his FFA chapter, serving as both secretary and president, and regularly attending state conventions, experiences that further reinforced discipline and responsibility.

Lance also noted that farm life offers an early education in operating and maintaining machinery of all sizes, a foundation that translates naturally to the demands of handling a complex aircraft. Just as important, he said, is the work ethic instilled on the farm. Farmers do what the job requires, whether that means starting before sunrise or continuing well past sunset, with no regard for a standard schedule. That same mindset carries over to military aviation, where the mission dictates the hours and the commitment must match the task.

I instructed Lance in a light single-engine Cessna 150 at Red Willow Aviation right here at our McCook Airport. He earned his private pilot license and went off to the Air Force Academy. He did well academically and also instructed other cadets on how to fly sailplanes/gliders. He also learned how to parachute out of airplanes, which, hopefully, he will not have to do from his beloved (multi-million-dollar) F-22.

Among other exploits, Lance told of attending a game in Husker Stadium while still in high school and seeing a formation of fighters make a low pass over the stadium at halftime. There, it became a life goal, and sure enough, he showed a picture of himself leading a flight of four T-38 jet-powered trainers over that same stadium, while he was instructing at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, years later.

The point of his talk was that even growing up on a farm in very rural Nebraska, one can aspire to do anything in life. There he was in real life, standing in his flight suit, an example of what each of those young students with similar backgrounds can do with their lives. Watching the recording of Lance’s talk kind of put tears of pride into the eyes of this old aviator—Grannie Annie, too!

Concerning, in my mind, is the sad state of agriculture in our area at the present time. Fertilizer and other required inputs to raise crops are high, and the price of our commodities is low. Making a living on the farm is tough, and we will see many farmers going broke and departing for other jobs.

Watching millions of Americans on TV marching in the “No Kings” demonstrations fills this old guy with disgust. According to Google, most of the horde are anti-Trump liberals. President Trump is sending our armed forces to Iran to put an end to their almost fifty-year war against us, their Great Satan and Israel, a little Satan. It is about time before Iran gets a nuclear weapon and makes our lives a living hell. That war will be ended soon, make the world a better place and then what will all those with TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) march and display their ugly signs against next time. North Platte reportedly had some 200 demonstrators, but thankfully, I saw no evidence of that crap here in our Southwest Nebraska area.

This is Easter season in America, and we Christians are celebrating the life of our Christ Jesus. We consider him King of Kings, the greatest King that ever lived! Surely, all those demonstrators don’t have the elimination of our Christian faith from steering our government as their goal. Christ our King has made this the greatest country in the history of the world.

The invite read “All you Vietnamese War veterans, bring your wife to the Coppermill and enjoy a strip steak meal in thanks for your service.” Free. Or something like that. The meal was fantastic. Even better than memories of the old chow halls plus the waitresses were prettier and spoke much better American English! The best part was honoring our wives who kept the household and family together while we were gone for those long periods of time. Thank you, Adam and your crew. God Bless!

That is how I saw it.