SEPTEMBER 19, 2025 – Becoming a B-52 Stratofortress aviators isn’t something that takes place overnight. It takes a lifetime of training and research at the B-52 Formal Training Unit.
The B-52 Formal Training Unit [FTU] is the only B-52 pilot training unit in the Air Force and recently graduated its second set of pilots this year after eight months of training, on September 12, 2025 at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.
“We’re, potentially, the most dangerous and destructive aircraft on the planet, and our graduates are taking the torch – moving it forward and up along the field,” said Lt. Col. Millard Matthews, III, 93rd Bomb Squadron commander. “And we couldn’t do it without our Total Force brethren”.
Working in a Total Force Integration environment, the FTU is a standing partnership between the 93rd Bomb Squadron, an Air Force Reserve unit, and the 11th Bomb Squadron, an active-duty Air Force unit. Once enrolled in the program, students endure roughly four months of academic training and another four to five months of hands-on training in the jet.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is the importance of being able to rely on the other members of the crew,” said 1st Lieutenant Colin McDonough, an FTU student assigned to the 11th Bomb Squadron. “There were times we made mistakes, but we got better as the flightline progressed, and by the end, we were able to catch those mistakes and not make them.”
While working with their colleagues to earn the distinction of pilot, electronic warfare officer, or weapons systems officer, students are constantly reminded that they are training to become a fellow B-52 pilot, instead of a competing one.
“They [instructors] always say, ‘We’re training you to be one of us.’ It’s a little different from growing up, going to school, and your teacher is teaching you to go out into the workforce,” said McDonough when asked his key takeaway from his FTU experience. “Here, we could have an instructor who could be flying an actual mission with us. It really shows that they care and want us to be the best because they know that we could be sitting next to them on the jet in one to three years.”
With an emphasis placed on academic and flightline training, it’s necessary to remember that cognitive and physical training is also important. For this reason, the unit utilizes Striker STEEL (Strategically Enhancing Effectiveness for Long-Range Strike), a training program tailored for B-52 aircrew and extended to meet the needs of Air Force Global Strike Command.
“It (Striker STEEL) develops our air crew in a cognitive way and physical development to help give them skills that will be beneficial for them as crew members throughout their Air Force career and in their lives,” said Lt. Colonel James Bresnahan, 11th Bomb Squadron Commander.
During Striker STEEL, students focused on memory training, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving so that they could always be prepared to think on purpose.
“When we first started [Striker STEEL], they made the expectations very clear – ‘we’re not going to turn you guys into super soldiers here’”, said McDonough. “The idea is that you’re going to be 1 – 3%better from a cognitive standpoint, which could give you the edge one day down the line.”
After completing their initial pilot training and graduating from the FTU, students join their home unit and undergo further training to prepare them for their future assignments.
“You’re finishing up here, you’ve completed your training aspect, you’ve learned a little bit about the mission, and your next milestones are to become combat mission ready,” said Bresnahan. “So, off you go to your operational squadrons, where they bring you up with the latest additional tactical skills and what it takes to be part of a combat crew.”
As students received their completion certificates, they were also given the patches of their operational squadrons. The class of 15 students will join either the 20th BS, 96th BS, 343rd BS, 23rd BS, or the 69th BS.
1st Lieutenant John Rutledge, a recent FTU graduate joining the 343rd BS as a pilot, is appreciative of his time in the program.
“I’m just grateful,” said Rutledge. “We all had an opportunity to be here and learn so much from so many valuable instructors and students. Whether they came for pilot training or flew with me through the pipeline for DCT [Direct Aviation] – it was an awesome opportunity to get to learn from them.”
The excitement of the ceremony didn’t just incite joy from the crowd filled with family, friends, and military personnel; it also tasked them to continue supporting their new graduates.
“We are necessary and what we do is extremely important, and family members and friends, we need your support now more than ever,” said Matthews. “So, please keep lifting your graduates, check up on them. War is dangerous, war is taxing. Just keep it up.”
The positive response from the crowd after Lt. Col. Matthews’ words was thunderous, with nothing but smiles to accompany the uproar as guests congratulated their graduates while encouraging them to continue their journey.
“It’s really exciting to see the combination of a lot of hard work for these graduates come to life,” said retired Chief Master Sergeant Adrian Bandhu, father of FTU graduate Captain Darrien Bandhu. “They will go on to do bigger and better things in their job as air crew members on the B-52 to protect our nation, future, and ensuring that all of the good in the Air Force continues.”
Story by Gabrielle Terrett
307th Bomb Wing