Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        National Guard Office of Special Victims' Counsel

    Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 3 pilots are teammates in the Guard but opponents in the sky By  1st Lt. Leanna Litsch
                Oklahoma National Guard
 OKLAHOMA CITY – It's common for Guard members to grow up in a unit and stay there for most of their career. This uniqueness brings a plethora of opportunities for connections to be made on the civilian side. Need an electrician? There's probably one in your unit. Need someone in Information Technology? Look among your ranks. Need a news station helicopter pilot? You can find three at the Oklahoma Army National Guard's aviation facility in Tulsa. Those three Guard members are Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jon Welsh, pilot for Oklahoma City's KFOR News Channel 4, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Will Kavanagh, pilot for Tulsa's KOTV News On 6, and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chase Rutledge, pilot for Oklahoma City's KOCO News Channel 5. One of the many unique traits of being in the National Guard is the civilian aspect. Most Guard members drill one weekend per month, conduct a two-week annual training and also deploy overseas. Unlike active duty, Guard members usually hold two roles: a civilian and a service member. "We flew in Iraq together and now we're flying in Oklahoma City together doing different things, and we're in the same unit flying a different helicopter for the National Guard," Rutledge said. Though the three pilots compete on the civilian side, they are teammates in the Guard by serving in the same unit; Detachment 1, Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 140th Security and Support Aviation Regiment. **Three pilots** Jon Welsh, of Moore, Oklahoma, joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard as an infantryman before transitioning to a helicopter pilot. He has flown for News Channel 4, in Oklahoma City, covering a multitude of stories, including the May 20, 2013, tornado in Moore. "I kind of refer to my job as on-demand services," Welsh said, correlating the similarities of being ‘Always Ready' with the Guard. "They want you ready to go when they want you to go." Will Kavanagh, of Tulsa, has flown for News On 6 in Tulsa since 2009. Like Welsh, Kavanagh also enlisted into the Oklahoma Army National Guard as an infantryman before transitioning to a helicopter pilot. Kavanagh has flown hundreds of major news stories in Tulsa, but he also fills in for his sister station, KWTV News 9 in Oklahoma City. "I think my proudest moments aren't the most memorable on camera," Kavanagh said as he discussed working with local authorities and informing the public. Chase Rutledge, originally from Tecumseh, Oklahoma, joined the OKARNG to pay for college and a few years later became a helicopter pilot. Compared to the other two pilots, Rutledge's position is a little different, as he works full-time for the Oklahoma Army National Guard supporting local, state and federal agencies, and is a part-time pilot for KOCO News Channel 5. "I love doing what I do," Rutledge said. "It's the best of both worlds." **Competition and camaraderie** "There's really no competition; I'm always better," Rutledge said with a smirk. "80 percent of the time, I'm there every time, first." On the civilian side, Welsh, Rutledge, and Kavanagh compete against each other within the same news market. The objective for each? To get to the story first. "I thought you were a pilot," Welsh joked with Kavanagh after using tail winds to beat Kavanagh to a story. "Shouldn't you look at winds?" "That's about the only time he'll beat me," Kavanagh replied. "With the help of Mother Nature." Though each pilot's news helicopter has different capabilities, all three have successfully won the coverage race at least once, providing an open door of friendly jabs toward one another. "Are you working for the History Channel today?" That's a common joke between all three pilots, meant to poke fun at whoever shows up last when covering a news story. "That is the pilot mentality," Kavanagh said, referring to their competitive spirit. "We're Type-A people. If we're not competing, we're sleeping." Through that competitiveness lies an unbroken brotherhood and bond that stems from their years in the Guard together, including a deployment to Iraq. "There's just that camaraderie and bond and professionalism that we have toward each other," Welsh said. "You don't really have to worry about offending somebody or stepping on their toes because we've known each other for almost a decade now and flown together in the Guard pretty much the whole time." "Through all that, the humor and razzing, we do learn and we do bond," Kavanagh said. "I'm really happy to have those guys out there with me flying, not only civilian, but also in the military." "We take care of each other, that's for sure," Rutledge said. "I try to get in [Welsh's camera] shot as much as I can though." Although the competition between the three is unwavering, the three share the same goal: keep the citizens of Oklahoma informed, minute by minute and second by second, especially during times of severe weather or other dangers. **Into the storms, the floods and flames**With Oklahoma's tendency to host tornadoes, floods and fires, the three pilots stay busy, whether in their civilian or Guard role. Though each role hones in on different objectives, both play an essential part during and after a situation, such as a natural disaster. "In the Guard when you have storms you fly away from them, and for the station we fly toward them, and really close," Rutledge said. When disaster strikes, often times the National Guard is called in to assist by their state's Office of Emergency Management, whether it's to provide equipment, personnel, or both. The Guard supplements local authorities where they fall under the direction of an Incident Commander, who is typically a civilian in charge. Welsh, Rutledge, and Kavanagh have all responded to a natural disaster on both the Guard and civilian side. While filling their roles as news helicopter pilots, their main response to a natural disaster is before it strikes and during. One of those disasters was the May 20, 2013, tornado that ripped through Welsh's hometown of Moore, killing 25 people, including seven children and injuring 377 others. The damage total was $2 billion, and the effects are still seen today. Welsh was in the sky before the tornado developed, capturing each moment from the tornado's conception near Newcastle, Oklahoma, to the far east side of Moore. "This is right at my house," Welsh said on air. For Welsh, the situation amassing beneath him was more real than anything else. Not only was he concerned about his community being destroyed, but for his family as well. The storm developed around the time the school day ended, and Welsh immediately called his wife to make sure their family took shelter. But no matter the situation, Welsh had a job to do. "I picked [the cell phone] up, haven't gotten a text yet, and I've got to go back and report," Welsh said as he explained the moment the tornado headed for his home. "You can't really fixate or get worried about one thing, you just have to keep moving the pots around so none of them boil so that you can really achieve what you're meant to do." Welsh won awards for his coverage and calm demeanor that day, but more importantly, he saved countless lives. "You meet people at the fair or wherever else and they're like, ‘Hey man, you saved my life,' and I'm like ‘Man I didn't save anybody's life. I didn't pick you up, you weren't injured,' and he goes, ‘I was listening to you on the radio and I was heading down Eastern, and you said it was coming right here so I turned around. If it wouldn't have been for you, I wouldn't have known,'" Welsh explained. As Oklahoma Guard members rolled in with personnel and equipment to assist local authorities, Welsh flew above his National Guard brothers and sisters, providing coverage of relief efforts for days and weeks following. Tornadoes aren't the only worry for Oklahoma. The spring of 2015 ended an Oklahoma drought that flooded parts of the state. For Rutledge, the floods provided an opportunity to speak over the air for the first time as the back-up helicopter pilot for KOCO News Channel 5. "It was the biggest flooding story in Oklahoma," Rutledge said. "I was really honored to be able to cover that." Rutledge's coverage from the air enabled local authorities and other agencies to establish passable routes, assess damage and begin relief efforts and reconstruction of damaged areas. This year, Oklahoma's wildfire season set records after untamed flames burned thousands of acres across the state, stretching into Kansas. In January of this year while flying for News 9, Kavanagh soared above the flames alongside his brothers in uniform while they dropped water buckets on a large wildfire near Edmond, Oklahoma. Because of his experience in the Guard, Kavanagh was able to explain the process of dropping water on wildfires while on air; a process unknown to many who haven't served in that particular position. "It's almost instructional to me the way I report," Kavanagh said. "That then makes people go, ‘Okay I understand why they're doing that.'" **The balance** "The biggest thing that has helped out by being in the Guard is during wildfire season, because you know pretty much everybody that flies [water] buckets," Welsh said, referring to UH-60 Black Hawks. "You can really work together as a team, even though I'm still in the Guard but today I'm being paid by Channel 4, we're still helping Guard guys achieve the mission." Having the skills to multitask is key for these three pilots. While in an aircraft, there is a swarm of responsibilities a pilot has to balance simultaneously, from wheels up to wheels down. With the experience they've gained from flying for the Oklahoma National Guard, the three are better prepared to fly for their news station. "You have to make quick decisions quite a bit," Rutledge said. "Being able to balance all of that, talk on the radio to other aircraft, talk live while you're doing the broadcast, and then also pay attention to your flying; having to balance all that is difficult and the Army has really prepared me for that." During his annual training earlier this summer, Rutledge came across a distress call while flying an OKARNG UH-72 Lakota helicopter near Muskogee. Rutledge spoke to the pilot moments before the crash, and the training mission immediately turned into a real-world situation. Rutledge and his crew landed at the scene to assist the pilot until emergency crews arrived. "Any time there's a real-world mission and we're doing a training mission, then that becomes the priority," Rutledge explained. "In a real-world emergency, we make the decision, and we did that day." For all three, the experience and discipline gained from the Oklahoma National Guard has helped them develop into better pilots, giving them the ability to perform at their very best in all situations. "There's a lot of things the Army has given me that makes me better in my civilian career than I would've been without it," Kavanagh said. "The discipline to stay to standard and not to try to deviate from the standard or what we know is acceptable in aviation." **Community ties**With all the joking between the three pilots aside, what these three men do for the community, in both roles, is immeasurable. "Any time you get a chance to pay back your community, it's very rewarding so that's one of the reasons I joined the Guard, because we have an actual stateside mission," Welsh said. "I enjoy the aspect of getting to help people out." "The thing I'm most proud about is when I work with police, fire," Kavanagh explained. "At my discretion, I'll put (aboard) a police officer or fire department personnel and we go on people searches." "I love being able to give the information to Oklahomans and let them know what's going on before it happens," Rutledge said. "There have been times where I've gone from reporting the tornadoes, to putting on my National Guard uniform and going and jumping in the National Guard helicopter and working it from the air in a different platform." In all, Oklahomans can take comfort in knowing that these three pilots have their eyes in the sky, as both a Citizen and a Soldier.
 SHARE
 PRINT
 
 Pennsylvania Army Guardsmen Complete Combat Lifesaver Course
 By Sgt. 1st Class Shane Smith,
  38th Infantry Division Soldiers Conduct Warfighter Exercise
 By Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry,
  Puerto Rico Air National Guard Trains at Red Flag-Alaska
 By 156th Wing
  More
 Pennsylvania Army Guardsmen Complete Combat Lifesaver Course Guard News • 2 hours ago
 38th Infantry Division Soldiers Conduct Warfighter Exercise Guard News • 10 hours ago
 Puerto Rico Air National Guard Trains at Red Flag-Alaska Guard News • 10 hours ago
 Air National Guard Conducts Sentry Savannah Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 Hawaii Air National Guard Hosts Sentry Aloha Joint Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 2024 (196)  2023 (427)  2022 (526)  2021 (697)  2020 (936)  2019 (387)  2018 (323)  2017 (346)  2016 (245)  2015 (356)  2014 (399)  2013 (469)  2012 (556)  2011 (533)  2010 (1071)  2009 (357)  2008 (638)  2007 (295)  2006 (188)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil