When a C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane made an appearance over Farmington on Aug. 14, calls came into the Four Corners Regional Airport wondering what was happening.
The plane, piloted by Lt. Col. Joe Aubert of Farmington, was on a “fini mission” for Aubert, who is retiring after a 20-year career with the U.S. Air Force. Aubert, who teaches pilots, also used the opportunity to use the airport for training.
“It was a celebration; you’re flying your last mission,” Aubert said in a phone interview delayed until a few days after the event, because he had to get permission from the U.S. Air Force.
The Spirit of Rosie the Riveter’s arrival at the airport brought out more than 300 people hoping to catch a glimpse of the giant aircraft. Then, Aubert gave them a special and rare treat by opening up the C-17 and allowing the public on board.
“This plane is really impressive,” said Ben Lyons, one of Aubert’s best friends. “The community is proud to have an event like this, and the community is proud of him.”
Lyons said Aubert is in the top 1% in the Air Force.
“The fact that the military allowed him to bring the C-17 here is a testament to him,” he said.
Aubert has more than 5,000 hours flying the C-17, and he even attended C-17 weapons school, which is the C-17 version of Top Gun, and he left his family for 10 months to go through the program.
Aubert grew up in Albuquerque and graduated from the University of New Mexico, where he was involved in ROTC. He graduated in 2004 and went to Holloman Air Force Base to earn his pilot’s license.
Then, Aubert went to Mann’s Air Force Base, where he received his Air Force wings, after graduating from Undergraduate Pilot Training. The next training he completed was a two-part, six-month series, where he learned to fly a jet, a business jet and then competed for the ability to fly a C-17.
“UPT – that was the most intense, hardest year of my life,” Aubert said. “It has about a 15% attrition rate because of the screening process to get you there.”
He said he was “supersaturated with information” and “simulating academics.”
“You learn to fly an airplane. You learn to fly an airplane the military way,” Aubert said.
Aubert became certified to fly the C-17 at Atlus Air Force Base, where he was No. 2 in his class and was able to be stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, where he stayed for four years.
After Hawaii, Aubert was stationed in Tacoma, Washington, and then, “I went and taught pilot training for two years at Vance Air Force Base,” he said, adding he completed the second phase of UPT for flying a T-1 aircraft.
“I’ve been to 125 countries and every continent. That’s the most amazing part of flying that aircraft – is the global reach of it,” Aubert said. “I’ve flown around the world four times.”
The purpose of the C-17 is to carry “outsized or secret cargo,” Aubert said. “When we would move into a combat zone or a dangerous place, we would transport personnel. If it was too unsafe for an aircraft carrier to go to.”
Other things the C-17 is known for supporting presidential movements, carrying large military equipment and people.
“It literally touches every area of the Earth,” Aubert said, adding it was used for evacuations in Kabul and provides humanitarian aid such as food and water when there are natural disasters.
In all his years of flying, Aubert said there were a few memorable events including flying the National Science Foundation to Antarctica to McMurdo Air Station and being in Northern Afghanistan.
“We took bullets and tracers from a heavy machine gun and all the bullets went through the airplane and took out the number four engine on a heavy weight departure,” he said.
“The purpose of the C-17 is its designed for short field landings and takeoff,” Aubert said, this is one of the reasons training at Four Corners Regional Airport is good for the pilots onboard.
“We intently go all over the U.S. and the world to train to prepare us to go to any airfield or environment,” Aubert said, adding Farmington’s airport is a “high-altitude, hot, short field airport, and we seek out places like that for the proficiency of our pilots refueling.”
Aubert added, “When we come to airports it’s good for the airport. We’re using the airport and buying their gasoline.”
Airport Manager Mike Lewis said the airport is required to allow the military to use the facility for training because it is an FAA licensed airport, and the military likes it because it simulates airfields in the Middle East.
“A lot of airfields in the Middle East have similar terrain and altitude. We’re 5,500 feet above sea level,” Lewis said. “It allows these people to practice.”
Aubert and his crew doing touch-and-go maneuvers, which consist of a “full landing, add power and takeoff,” Lewis said.
Aubert has been flying with the Air Force Reserves since 2017, which also allowed him to become a commercial pilot for Delta Air Lines.
“I worked as a full-time pilot flying as first officer on (Boeing) 767 and 757 airplanes,” he said, adding he is now captain of the Airbus A321.
Now that he is retiring from the Reserves he will work for Delta full-time flying out of Los Angeles International Airport. “Twelve to 14 days a month – that’s considered a full schedule,” he said.
Aubert said he looked at his time in the Air Force as service, and that will translate into the next phase of his life.
“You serve your country, you serve the people you work with, as a professional pilot I’m working on my craft to become the best professional pilot I can be, and I’m training pilots,” Aubert said. “It gives me satisfaction to do that and be a servant leader.”
