Warrior of the North selected for emerging UAS program

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  • By 319th ARW Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Capt. Tim Rott, a 319th Air Refueling Wing executive officer, was recently selected as one of the first 10 nonrated officers to participate in the Air Force Chief of Staff's newest unmanned aircraft system program, Beta Test. 

The Beta Test program seeks motivated officers from various career fields to train to be UAS pilots in a mere eight months. According to Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force Chief of Staff, one aspect of the Air Force's future success is the proper development and integration of UAS. 

"As a result, the Air Force is exploring options to create an independent UAS operator career field with a training pipeline separate from current Air Force pilot training," the general stated. 

Captain Rott will be one of the Air Force's UAS pilots trained through the program. 

"Well, I'm excited," the captain exclaimed. "I've wanted to fly for as long as I've been in the Air Force, but I had some medical things that prevented me from doing that. Now to actually have the opportunity to go out and fly is pretty cool, and it's the leading edge where the Air Force is headed." 

"I applaud the Air Force for pushing off into this new, innovative direction as we seek to provide both the warfighter and the peacemakers with the necessary tools to carry out their important missions across the globe," stated Col. John Michel, 319th Air Refueling Wing commander. "If anyone hasn't figured it out, Unmanned Aircraft Systems are a growth industry that demands we provide the very best qualified personnel to operate this critical capability. The fact that our own Capt Rott was selected for this prestigious program speaks volumes about him as well as all the incredible talent we enjoy on the Grand Forks team," he added. 

The training will take Captain Rott through introductory flight training similar to what private pilots receive, instrument and simulator training, and after about six months, the captain will fly a UAS for the first time. 

"It is pretty quick, and I guess that's the whole idea behind it," he added. "The people who fly UASs now go through about 18 months of pilot training, and it costs upwards of $1 million to train one of those pilots, versus this program, which allows us to train a lot faster for a lot cheaper to fill the spots that need to be filled."