On what would have otherwise been a typical day at the office, Skip Carlson learned what it was like to be at the helm of a 90,000-pound flying fortress.

Seated in the cockpit of a C-130, Carlson was one of about 40 guests treated to a behind-the-scenes look by the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing.


What You Need To Know

  • Earlier this month, the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing invited the leaders and owners of about 40 local companies for a behind-the-scenes look at the Stratton Air National Guard Base

  • Many of the base’s roughly 1,300 airmen have full-time jobs at the company’s and agencies led by the visitors

  • Dubbed “Boss Lift,” the tour ended with a flight on one of the base’s 13 C-130s

  • The afternoon is designed to give the employers a better understanding and appreciation of what their employees go through when they’re away on temporary military duty

“I think this is the only flight deck I will ever be in in my life, so it is definitely one of those life experiences that I can share,” Carlson said in between exchanging questions with the airman on board.

Carlson is the vice president of the Saratoga Casino Hotel. Like him, all of the day’s visitors help lead or own large local companies and agencies that employ many of the 1,300 airmen who work at the Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia.

“I think the idea is that the more the employers can see what our folks do, the more they will understand what the commitment level is and is like in the more they will have an appreciation,” said Colonel Robert Donaldson, the base’s vice commander.

Donaldson says it’s important to routinely give employers a first-hand look at the Guard’s operations to ensure their service members keep receiving support when they’re away from their full-time jobs on temporary military duty.

“Let’s face it, they are sacrificing just like our members,” Donaldson said of the employers invited to the visit, which the Guard dubs 'Boss Lift.' “Anything we can do to engender trust to those stakeholders is a great thing we can do to support, and I think it goes toward the long-term support overall.”

The employers were also treated to a full briefing and history lesson about the 109th’s operations from Col. Cliff Souza.

“This is the same briefing we give to our middle military general officers and congressional delegation when they come through,” Souza told the group at the beginning of his remarks.

With the tagline 'pole to pole, sand to snow,' Souza said the 109th is the military’s only unit specifically tasked to work in the Polar Regions. Each year its members carry out military and scientific missions in Greenland and Antarctica.

“If you pay attention to some of the great power competitions that are going on with China and Russia and the increased interest in arctic operations, this unit is central to that capability,” said Souza, who is a pilot that’s been working full-time with the 109th Airlift Wing for about 20 years.

“The amount of preparation that goes into something like this, it is just amazing the mission that these folks have,” Carlson said following the briefing.

Once the briefings and hangar tours were complete, it was time for the highlight of the day’s visit: a flight on one of the base’s 13 C-130s.

“There ain’t no going back!” Carlson joked as he clipped in his seatbelt.

After some final preps by the crew, the engines were fired up and it was just about time for lift-off.

“I’m excited and a little apprehensive because I do get a little motion sickness,” said Carlson, whose feelings were echoed by a number of the passengers seated in the plane’s cargo hold.

The takeoff was a bit rocky, but after a few minutes, the plane reached cruising altitude and everyone was invited to stretch their legs and take in the view. The flight was far shorter than the ones to the Arctic circle, turning around over Lake Champlain and making it back to the base within an hour.

“It was a great experience, one that I will never do again because my stomach was upside down,” Carlson said. “But I am glad I did it.”

Carlson says he and the other guests are leaving with a greater appreciation for the sacrifices their employees make when they’re away serving their country.

“For how prepared they are, which is amazing, the skills they have and the coordination that they have, this is no easy task, this kind of thing and they make it look easy,” he said.