Air traffic controller vectors in his sister

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Frank Casciotta
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  It wasn't just another day in the Radar Approach Control when Michael Bartel, an air traffic controller, finally heard a call sign he had been waiting for April 30 -- his sister's.

Bartel, a senior airman from the 71st Operations Support Squadron, had the unique opportunity to guide his sister, Capt. Chandra Fleming, a 75th Fighter Squadron A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot out of Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, toward Vance before passing her off to the control tower for a landing.

"The first controller I spoke to wasn't my brother, so I was disappointed, but suddenly it was his voice I was hearing," said Fleming. "He was very professional, and it was so neat hearing him. I can't imagine there are many siblings that are pilots and controllers out there, so that's really cool." 

Their meeting came about when Fleming heard about a volunteer opportunity to visit Vance and display an A-10 to inspire student pilots here.

"I knew my brother was at Vance, so I said I would go just to see him," said Fleming who graduated JSUPT at Vance in 2008. "I'm really proud of him. Controllers play such a critical role in the Air Force's mission. We couldn't fly without them."

After graduation, Fleming spent the next four years as a T-6 Texan II instructor pilot before moving on to the A-10.

Fleming's inspiration to become a pilot stems from her father's influence.

"My father was in the Air Force in the 70s, and he was always talking up the military and how great it was," said Fleming. "I decided I wanted to go ROTC and be a pilot, and this is the airplane I wanted to fly."

Her brother wanted to become a combat controller. Though he spent two years in training, he came to a point where he had to make a crucial decision about his next career move.

"I had broken my femur three times during training, and I was told if I broke it again I'd never be eligible to become a CCT," said Bartel, who has been an air traffic controller here for two years.  "At least now, I can still try to cross-train back into it. Right now though, I think I'm going to stay an air traffic controller because of all the opportunities it offers in and out of the military."