58th SOW Airman completes 4,000 hours

  • Published
  • By Stefan Bocchino
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. --  Senior Master Sgt. Robert Dinsmore, 512th Rescue Squadron superintendent at Kirtland AFB, completed 4,000 hours in rotary-wing aircraft here Aug. 17 while on a training mission in an HH-60G Pave Hawk.

The 23-year Air Force veteran has been flying for 18 years. He has nearly 2,500 hours in the MH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant, more than 1,500 hours in the HH-60, and about 10 hours in the UH-1 Huey as an aerial gunner.

"To get to 4,000 hours takes at least 15 years of flying," said Dinsmore. "Not many rotary-wing guys cross that mark. The milestone means I have passed all the physical demands of being in a helicopter, with the vibration taking its toll."

He said there are 135 enlisted aircrew members in the 58th Special Operations Wing. Currently, only 10 have more than 4,000 flight hours. Dinsmore was the wing's first to reach 4,000 helicopter-only hours.

Senior Master Sgt. Shane Genis, 58 SOW superintendent, is also closing in on 4,000 hours in rotary-wing aircraft.

At nearly 3,960 hours, he should pass the mark in a month or two.
He has more than 3,000 hours in the MH-53 Pave Low, 200 hours in the MI-17 Hip, 100 hours in the UH-1 and the rest in the CV-22 as a flight engineer.

"I love the experience of flying," said Genis. "I've had great opportunities and seen many things. Nothing compares to being a career aviator. You get to travel the world, meet different people and experience events that most people won't be able to do in their Air Force careers."

Genis said that people thinking about a career in rotary-wing aircraft should go for it.

Dinsmore was selected for chief master sergeant during the August enlisted supplemental promotion process.

He said he will be the last aerial gunner to make chief. The career field is changing to "Special Mission Aviation," merging vertical-lift flight engineers, all helicopter and AC-130 aerial gunners, and AC-130 and MC-130W loadmasters into one field.

"Being in rotary-wing aircraft is the best job in the Air Force," said Dinsmore. "We get to fly around, seeing our country and other countries. The mission in the vertical-lift arena is one of the best in the Air Force. We do rescue missions and special operations missions. It's a great job and extremely rewarding."

58 SOW enlisted aviators with more than 4,000 flight hours:
-- Master Sgt. Lawrence Henderson II, 58th Operations Support Squadron, 5,818.2 hours
-- Chief Master Sgt. David Elliott, 58th Operations Group, 5,799.7 hours
-- Master Sgt. Michael Daugherty, 550th Special Operations Squadron, 5,521.9 hours
-- Master Sgt. Michael Hinton, 550 SOS, 5,325.2 hours
-- Master Sgt. Leslie Dye, 550 SOS, 4,505.5 hours
-- Master Sgt. Gregory Huston, 550 SOS, 4,290.5 hours
-- Master Sgt. Joseph Liggett, 550 SOS, 4,140.3 hours
-- Master Sgt. Michael Burt, 512th Rescue Squadron, 4,110.4 hours
-- Tech. Sgt. Vicente Romero, 550 SOS, 4,099.0 hours
-- Tech. Sgt. Kenneth Martinez, 550 SOS, 4,021.4 hours