Veteran Spotlight: Air Force Lt. Col. Peter Uchmanowicz

FALMOUTH, Mass. — Peter Uchmanowicz served his country for 24 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. 

 

He comes from an outstanding military family: His grandfather Lt. John Powers fought in World War II; his father, Maj. Lawrence Uchmanowicz, served in Korea and Vietnam; his brother Joe few B-52s during Operation Desert Storm, and his son, Nicholas, is currently serving in the Air Force.

 

Uchmanowicz would begin his storied career after graduating from U.S. Air Force Academy in 1988. He was sent to pilot training in Williams, Ariz., then assigned as a pilot on a KC-135, an in-flight refueler. His first assignment was at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in New York State, where he would deploy to Desert Storm in the Middle East. 

 

"The war kicked off on my birthday and I was out flying" he recalled with a laugh. He continued. "We lived in 20-man tents. Everything was a tent — mess, latrine — we flew every single day, sometimes twice a day.

 

"Missions were six hours and we refueled anything that flew. Some of the things we saw were pretty amazing. The professionalism was spectacular."

 

Uchmanowicz spoke of the intricacies of the refueling process. 

 

"You have planes going 500 mph that are 20-feet apart. In-flight rendezvous — meet at a specific place and time and if you're a minute late, you could be seven miles apart," he said. "The biggest thing for pilots is predictability, constant air speed, avoid bad weather. Safety is the No. 1 concern, always." 

 

His biggest challenge during service?

 

"When it came time to decide on active duty or stay out. I made the right decision with the Air National Guard," he said. "The humanitarian effort is what I'm most proud of. We provided hope, provided comfort, we relocated people away from danger, brought in water, the military just doesn't fight wars, it helps people ... sometimes, people don't understand that." 

 

Asked about the holidays, he responded with this: "The first couple are tough. They were actually

tougher on my family than me. You'd have a celebration with your guys, your crew is your family, your responsibility is to take care of the younger guys."

 

Uchmanowicz would go on to serve his country through 15  deployments, including combat air patrol, protecting the air space when President Ronald Reagan died. As one can imagine, he has been awarded numerous medals and ribbons, including the Air Medal, the Meritorious Service

Medal, the Kuwaiti Freedom Medal and the Hurricane Katrina Relief Ribbon (he is most proud of the latter two). 

 

His thoughts on his 24-year career? "I have a great sense of pride, on a job well done. I sleep very well at night knowing I was part of something that was much bigger than me."

 

Lt. Col. Peter Uchmanowicz, thank you for your service to your great country.