Yokota C-12J pilot begins Pilot-Physician training program

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Ashley Wright
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  This August, a Yokota pilot will take a career changing leap--heading off for the Uniformed University of Health Sciences to begin medical school for the Air Force Pilot-Physician training program.

Capt. Thomas Powell, Chief of Current Operations at Yokota's 459th Airlift Squadron and a C-12J instructor pilot, heard about the program as a cadet and is ready to take this new step in his career.

"A physician is something I've always wanted to be," Powell said. "It was a dream that I chose to put on the shelf, and now, thanks to the generosity of the Air Force and an incredible amount of luck and hard work, I have the opportunity to pursue it now."

The Pilot-Physician program is comprised of physicians or pilots who desire to become qualified in both careers.

"Pilot-Physicians are sort of a bridge between the ops and medical world in the Air Force." Powell said.

According to the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, Pilot-Physicians, while not formally recognized until after World War I, have existed since the beginnings of aviation. They are qualified to identify, assess and integrate information from various factors that affect a pilot's ability to operate their aircraft and weapons systems.

"Any part of the aircraft that is involved with human interface, caring for people or transporting sick people, they're involved with it," Powell said. "They set the training syllabi for the flight surgeons that take care of the aircrew or the people who examine and approve aeromedical evacuation equipment."

Pilot-Physicians uniquely benefit from the ability to speak both the aviation and medical languages--enhancing rapport and cross-communication between the line and the medical corps. Today, there are about a dozen Pilot-Physicians in the Air Force and the path to becoming dual-qualified is both long and rigorous.  

Pilots who desire to enter the program must complete all prerequisite courses for medical school and take the Medical College Admission Test in addition to having exceptional records of extracurricular activities, community service and military service.  

"Be prepared to put in the work," Powell said.  "But also make sure to believe in yourself first. Otherwise, you're not going to be able to do it."