Wardlaw and his team assist stricken jet fighter

Lt. Col. Aaron Wardlaw, the son of Len and Cindy Wardlaw of Delta, was recently featured in an Air Force Times story which was picked up by AP.

The story, "Air Force tanker crew assists stricken jet fighter," was written by Capt. Martha L. Petersante, a public affairs officer with the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing.

She describes a routine mission conducted by the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron from the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan.

"This day, however, proved to be anything but normal as the crew found themselves in a unique situation, literally acting as a wingman to a much smaller fighter jet in trouble," Capt. Petersante wrote.

Lt. Col. Aaron Wardlaw, 22 EARS aircraft commander, and his team delivered during crunch time, guiding the aircraft through a series of specific maneuvers to reset the on-board flight computers and allowing the pilot to regain effective communications and navigational instruments.

"It's all about taking care of your own," Wardlaw said. "While we may operate different platforms, ultimately he's a fellow airman who needed our help on a bad day."

Wardlaw grew up in the Crystal River Valley, attended school in Carbondale and graduated from Roaring Fork High School. He completed ground school from Colorado Mountain College while in high school and learned to fly in Aspen and Glenwood Springs, completing his private pilot's license before graduating high school.He earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in aviation from Oklahoma State University, and has hours toward his doctorate. Aaron now resides in Stillwater, Okla., with his family and has been with the Oklahoma Air Guard for 21 years. Aaron has been cross trained in both C130s and KC135s.

"Needless to say we are very proud of our son and his flight crew," Cindy Wardlaw said.

The complete story can be read at www.manas.afcent.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123315922.

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