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Minnesota Guard pilot hits 10,000 hours

During a routine compilation of monthly flying records in the Minnesota Air National Guard, a major accomplishment came to light: Officials realized that one of their airmen had hit the 10,000-hour mark.

Lt. Col. Steven T. O’Brien, a command pilot and 133rd Operations Group Commander, hit the milestone March 4 during an aeromedical training flight, according to a Guard press release. O’Brien, 54, has put in all of those hours with the Minnesota Air Guard, and currently flies the C-130H.

“When I was a young instructor pilot with my hair on fire,” O’Brien said in the release, “I probably logged 400 to 450 hours a year. Now I fly maybe 200 hours a year.”

O’Brien joined the Air Guard in 1977 and has served around the world, including deployments in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He has 33 combat sorties under his belt.