On December 15, 2017, the Winona Rotary Club held its regular Friday noon meeting at the Pizza Inn. President Jonathan Graves presided. Twenty-three members and two guests were present. Cody Toth introduced his uncle, Lt. Col. Joelee Sessions, as his program.
Col. Sessions is a pilot for the Air National Guard and he is posted with the 172nd Airlift Wing at Jackson, MS. He joined the guard as an enlisted man and began doing airplane maintenance. When the opportunity presented itself he went to OTS and then to pilot training in Del Rio, TX. After pilot training he returned to the 172nd as a pilot of the C17. The C17 is a jet transport. Col. Sessions is presently in command of the airbase opening unit. He has served in the National Guard for 26 years.
The 172nd Airlift Wing was opened in Jackson in 1953. Since 2003 it has been a base for the C17 airplane. At present there are nine C17 planes there. During operations it is usually staffed with two pilots and two load masters. The C17 is a four engine jet. It is fifty-five feet tall and has a one hundred-twenty foot wingspan. It will carry 170,000 pounds of cargo or 102 troops and it can go approximately 500 miles per hour at a cruising elevation of 28,000 feet.
Col. Sessions said that he had flown a number of cargo missions to the middle east but that most of his missions were state to state transports. Missions to Afghanistan can be up to 20 hours in length and require additional staffing. The C17 is equipped for in-flight refueling so it is possible to make non-stop flights to the middle east if necessary, but he said that was the exception and most missions were limited by the fuel capacity of the plane and the flying conditions. It is less expensive that way because there is no need for a refueling plane.
Col. Sessions said that the 172nd Airlift Wing had crew members from every county in Mississippi. And he noted that the economic impact from the Wing to Mississippi was over One Hundred and Eighty Million Dollars per year.
Mississippi is fortunate to have the 172nd Airlift Wing and men like Lt. Col. Sessions who have dedicated their lives to our country. The Air Force is experiencing a pilot shortage now so if you are interested talk to an Air National Guard recruiter.
On January 5, 2018 Kent Mortimer will have the program. You are invited to come and bring a guest and you are asked to remember the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self.” Happy New Year.
