Command changes at 33rd FTS

  • Published
  • By Frank McIntyre
  • 71st Flying Training Wing public affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The 33rd Flying Training Squadron welcomed new leadership during a ceremony Thursday morning in Hangar 199 as Navy Commander Kory Fierstine accepted command of the squadron from Lt. Col. Steve Fournier.

Commander Fierstine has been the 33rd FTS director of operation since arriving at Vance in December 2005.

"Molding Sailors, Marines and Airmen into military pilots is an awesome responsibility. Doing so in a time of war is both a privilege and an honor and a mission we in the 33rd take very seriously," Commander Fierstine said. "Today, it is not enough to teach young officers the foundational skills required to operate complicated aircraft in a dynamic three dimensional environment. After leaving T-6 training, most of the young men and women here will not have the luxury of time to hone their fledgling skills before risking their lives on the front line. As such, it is with pride and humility that I hope to serve as Skipper and Dragon 1 of the 33d FTS, where we train the worlds best warrior pilots."

Commander Fierstine joined the Navy in 1987 under the Naval Aviation Cadet Program and completed Aviation Officer's Candidate School at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. before moving to Texas for training in the T-34C, VT-27 at NAS Corpus Christi and in the T-2C/TA-4J, VT-26/VT25 at NAS Beeville, where he received both his wings of gold and his commission as an ensign in the United States Navy in August 1989.

Assigned to fly the S-3A, the Long Beach, Calif., native moved to NAS San Diego in 1989, and while training in the Viking, was selected to fly the cargo version (US-3A) of that airframe and diverted to Cubi Point, Philippines. Over the next three years, he flew throughout the 5th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility supporting Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Restore Hope, as well as humanitarian/disaster relief efforts in the Philippines and Bangladesh.

In 1991, Commander Fierstine moved to Anderson AFB, Guam, when all forces were removed from the Philippines. In late 1993, he moved to NAS Jacksonville, Fla., and retrained in the S-3B before serving as safety department head, head landing signals officer and chief naval aviation training and operating procedures standardization (NATOPS) instructor with Sea Control Squadron 22. While attached to the VS-22 Checkmates, he deployed with the USS Eisenhower and USS Theodore Roosevelt, supporting Operations Sharp Guard, Deliberate Force and Southern Watch. In 1997, he moved to the Sea Control Wing, U.S. Atlantic Fleet at Jacksonville as the S-3B NATOPS evaluator. While there he arranged for the acquisition of two T-34C aircraft, more than $2 million in annual funding and stood up the T-34C NATOPS program. In 2000, he retrained in the S-3B and reported to the VS-24 Scouts where he served first as administrative officer, then maintenance officer, deploying in the USS Enterprise and supporting Operations Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom.

After graduating first in his class with an MBA in finance from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., in 2003, he was assigned to the Pentagon as a financial analyst in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller, in charge of $6 billion in annual funding and all command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) programs.

Commander Fierstine has more than 4,200 flying hours in the T-34C, T-2C, TA-4J, S-3A, US-3A, C-2A, S-3B and T-6 aircraft. His awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters.

Colonel Fournier departs for Randolph AFB, Texas, where he will serve as chief of initial training for Air Education and Training Command, as well as providing guest help flying the T-6 for pilot instructor training with the 559th FTS.

"It has been an honor and privilege to command the 33rd FTS," Colonel Fournier said. "I am very proud of the Dragons and their accomplishments; they have set the bar high. I will miss Team Vance and all of the great people here in Enid. Dragons Rule!"