Page 12 - Aerotech News and Review June 17, 2016_Neat

Father, son celebrate service
air refueling history on a regular basis. His and 320’s contributions the
by Christopher Ball tanker community are both so valuable, I couldn’t think of a better 135 Dwight Worden and his son Jim Worden depart the
Edwards AFB, Calif. to have him visit.” KC-135 Stratotanker after a tour and discussion with
crewmembers. Jim Worden retired June 13, 2016, almost
An 85-year-old retired U.S. Air Force major got a chance to revisit his “Our time spent with Mr. Worden was especially unique for a few exactly four decades after his father.
favorite aircraft four decades after he retired from the service. reasons,” Joachim said. “First, Mr. Worden being initial cadre for the
A-model 135 is truly special because of all the things the 135 has ac-
Retired Air Force Maj. Dwight Worden boarded a KC-135 Strato- complished over the last six decades. Secondly The KC-135 officially
tanker at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., June 13 during an informal turns 60 this year and Mr. Worden was lucky enough to have pioneered
tour to celebrate the retirement of his son, Jim Worden, an engineer the most proliferated and successful tanker in aviation history.”
with Detachment 5, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center
here. Jim Worden’s retirement ceremony, after a 36-year civil service “The KC-135 was my dad’s favorite plane. Today was not just the
career, was June 6. thrill of the day for him. It was more like the thrill of a generation,”
Jim Worden said.
Jim Worden said his father’s career did have an influence on his own.
“Growing up as a dependent, I was around the Air Force my entire Air Force photographs by Christopher Ball
life,” he said. “But I didn’t go in the Air Force, because I didn’t see that
they had a need for engineers,” he said. But then he got a civilian job Dwight Worden, retired Air Force major and former KC-135
at Edwards Air Force Base. “The variety, the technical challenges here, Stratotanker pilot, discusses the aircraft, then and now, with Maj.
and the people, are what made my career,” he said. Nick LaPlant, test pilot with the 418th Flight Test Squadron.
Jim Worden worked instrumentation on the KC-135 early in his ca-
reer at Edwards. Dwight Worden flew the KC-135 for the Air Force C
when they were added to the inventory in the 1950s. Prior to that, Wor- M
den flew the KC-97 Stratofreighter, the older, propeller-driven version Y
of the Stratotanker. CM
During the senior Worden’s tour of the aircraft, he had a chance to MY
speak with Maj. Nick LaPlant, a test pilot with the 418th Flight Test CY
Squadron, and SSgt. Adam Joachim, a test boom operator with the CMY
452nd Flight Test Squadron. They spent some time discussing the dif- K
ferences between the aircraft from Worden’s time and the same aircraft
now.
“I was surprised at the amount of changes made to the aircraft,”
Dwight Worden said.
The boom operator explained that Dwight Worden toured a particu-
larly unique KC-135. “Being that 320 is highly instrumented and modi-
fied to support our mission here at the test center in certifying tanker/
receiver compatibility, Mr. Worden got to see the KC-135 that makes

Veteran’s Resources

Veterans Administration Life Insurance: Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
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VA Benefits: Program National Headquarters
Burial, Death Pension, Dependency Indemnity Compen- 1-800-419-1473 406 West 34th St.
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cation, Home Loan Guaranty, Medical Care, Vocational 1-800-669-8477 Telephone: (816) 756-3390

Rehabilitation and Employment Mammography Helpline Washington Office
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Washington, D.C. 20002
Beneficiaries in receipt of Pension Benefits Women Veterans Hotline Telephone: (202) 543-2239
1-877-294-6380 855-VA-WOMEN (829-6636)
Disabled American Veterans
Debt Management Center CHAMPVA Meds by Mail www.dav.org
1-800-827-0648 1-888-385-0235 (or)
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Children of Women Vietnam Veterans (CWVV) Mustard Agents and Lewisite/Ionizing Radiation Telephone: 1-877 I AM A VET (877-426-2838)
877-345-8179 1-800-749-8387
(859) 441-7300
Foreign Medical Program (FMP) Status of Headstones and Markers
1-888-820-1756 1-800-697-6947 Washington Office
807 Maine Ave., S.W.
Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) Washington, DC 20024
Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) Dial 711 Telephone: (202)554-3501

CHAMPVA In-House Treatment Initiative The American Legion Vietnam Veterans of America
1-800-733-8387 www.legion.org www.vva.org

Education (GI Bill) National Headquarters 8719 Colesville Rd., Suite 100
1-888-442-4551 700 N. Pennsylvania Street Silver Spring, MD 20910

Health Care Benefits P.O. Box 1055 Telephone: 301-585-4000
1-877-222-8387 Indianapolis, IN 46206 Fax: 301-585-0519
Telephone: (317) 630-1200
Smoking Cessation Counselors Fax: (317) 630-1223 Toll Free: 1-800-882-1316
1-855-QUIT-VET (1-855-784-8838)

Veterans Crisis Line Washington Office
1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) 1608 K St. N.W.

Combat Call Center Washington, DC 20006
1-877-WAR-VETS (1-877-927-8387) Telephone: (202) 861-2700

Fax: (202) 861-2786

12 Aerotech News and Review June 17, 2016

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