Phantoms to Fighting Falcons: One man witnesses history

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nicholas Benroth
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  From the F-4E Phantom II to the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, the aircraft at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., come and go, and one man has witnessed this history in a unique way.

For more than 55 years, Don Martin has been a part of the military and witnessed the change in the Air Force mission as well as Moody's through his work as a flight simulator expert.

"The reason I joined the Air Force was because I wanted to serve in the military, but wasn't interested in the other services," said the current 23rd Operations Support Squadron flight simulator facility project manager. "I came in not knowing what job I would do but it ended up being something I became passionate about."

Mr. Martin joined the Air Force in 1955 as an aircraft simulator maintainer and has worked with simulators for most of the aircraft Moody has had over the years, from the F-16A Fighting Falcon to the newly-opened HC-130P Combat King simulator.

"One of my favorite aircraft simulators to work on has been the Convair F-106 Delta Dart simulator," Mr. Martin said. "While there's a lot to learn about these systems, the Dart was especially challenging to work on because it had a lot of different capabilities."

Mr. Martin arrived at Moody in 1976 shortly after it switched from Air Training Command to Tactical Air Command. This was the first time in nearly 25 years Moody's mission was close air support instead of pilot or aircrew training.

"The switch had just happened when I came here and was put in charge of the brand-new simulator program," Mr. Martin said. "Pilots had previously trained on the actual aircraft so the switch called for the development of a simulator program.

"The timing meant I got to help build the program and watch it grow," he added. "My experience at prior bases helped me to be successful at this."

After working with the simulators for a few years, Mr. Martin decided to retire and found something else that held his interest, testing airplane batteries. However, he realized he'd rather be involved with the military doing his old job.

"After nearly five years, I realized I was passionate about simulators more than what I was doing as a civilian," he said. "So when I heard there was a maintenance position open, I took the opportunity to get involved with the military community again.

"It was weird working at a lower level and for someone I had previously supervised," Mr. Martin said. "I was the manager before I left, but I had to start all over again working from the ground up to get back my current position."

Ironically, his new boss was someone he had worked with and mentored for many years.

"Don was a great mentor to me and always pointed me in the right direction," said retired Senior Master Sgt. Richard Kuter, 23rd OSS flight simulator facility field engineer. "He's a great guy and we have been friends for many years, ever since I was a young Airman and the F-16s were here."

Because of the amount of time they've been working together, the two have developed a close relationship.

"When I was a young Airman, I returned from a deployment and was debating whether or not I wanted to stay in the military," Mr. Kuter said. "Talking with Don helped get me on the right path to where I wanted to be in for life."

Mr. Kuter eventually rose to the position of project manager and led the facility while Mr. Martin was in the maintenance position. Soon after retirement, he returned to fill a civilian position at the facility and was once again working with his mentor.

Since Mr. Martin began his career more than 55 years ago, he has impacted many people and witnessed many changes, but there's one thing he hasn't seen -- the end of the Flying Tiger mission.