Yes, reaching 10,006.5 flying hours is a significant milestone for anyone, even for the unassuming Joint STARS senior director/technician.
"But I don't know if it's a big deal for anybody else," the master sergeant said before a Thursday flight that would take him past that rarified mark.
Others beg to differ, including the California native's first sergeant in the 330th Combat Training Squadron. Senior Master Sgt. Russel Ratley thinks it's a huge accomplishment since few reach that lofty plateau.
"It's just dedication to the mission," explained Ratley, who has logged about 3,000 hours himself in the giant ground surveillance system.
"He's one of the guys who has focused not only on doing his job, but in training others," Ratley said of Fernandez. "He goes the extra mile. And if anyone falls out of a mission, he's one of the first guys to say he will fly it. He's the first in Joint STARS to hit this mark."
Fernandez has logged almost 3,400 hours with J-STARS since joining the 116th Air Control Wing at Robins Air Force Base in the summer of 2000. He also has flown more than 6,000 hours on the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System or AWACS. The 10,000-hour total during a 21-year Air Force career is at least 2,000 more than anyone else in the Robins unit.
AWACS uses a rotating radar dome mounted on top of its fuselage to track aircraft at ranges in excess of 250 miles, giving battle managers greater situational awareness of potential airborne threats.
Joint STARS employs a 24-foot, belly-mounted radar to detect, identify and track moving targets on the ground. Eighteen mission crew members onboard the modified Boeing 707 then analyze the data and communicate precise targeting information to airborne and surface units.
Despite 14 years in AWACS at assignments in Oklahoma, Japan and Germany, Fernandez, 39, said he prefers the up-close-and-personal role played by Joint STARS.
"We're involved in pretty much everything that happens on the ground," he said. "We're watching convoys. I talk directly to guys, letting them know if they have any sort of threat moving toward them. Obviously, both AWACS and Joint STARS are important, but I just like this one a whole lot better."
Fernandez, who has deployed nine times in the war on terror, said he would just like to get past the 10,000-hour benchmark - at least the attention it's drawing - and get on with business.
"If it were up to me, I'd keep it nice and quiet - maybe a few friends and the people I've worked with the last few years," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting it over with. It seemed like a long time coming. And once it was in reach, time just seemed to slow down."
The San Leandro High School graduate has spent his entire career on flight status. "I've never had a staff job," he noted.
He does not personally know another airman with more than 10,000 hours, although he concedes that a number of flight engineers and loadmasters on other aircraft likely are at the same point.
Fernandez said he is doing what he always wanted to do - fly and serve his country.
"Flying is fun. It's easy," he contends. "Not many enlisted people in the Air Force get to fly. To me, it's a privilege."
The single airman said his philosophy is simple: "Just do your job. Do it well. And enjoy where it takes you."
To contact writer Gene Rector, call 923-3109, extension 239.
