Laughlin firefighter set to begin OTS

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nathan Maysonet
  • 47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  With a passion for firefighting and a love of the sky, one of Laughlin's fire dogs will soon accomplish what few can claim, crossing from enlisted greens to officer blues.

Staff Sgt. Curtis Billig, 47th Civil Engineer Squadron firefighter, is due to go to Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., next spring to become one of the Air Force's newest lieutenants and future pilots.

"To get a commission is hard enough but to get a rated slot for either ROTC or OTS is almost impossible," said Col. Tom Murphy, 47th Flying Training Wing commander. "This shows your character."

A Pennsylvania native, Billig grew up enamored by his father's service in the Air Force, who was also a firefighter, explained Billig.

"I always knew I wanted to be in the Air Force but after doing some volunteer work with my dad and loving it, I decided to go fire fighter," he said.

When he enlisted, what began as a desire to serve for only six years, quickly become a career that has offered Billig a variety of opportunities, including earning his Bachelor Degree in Fire Science Management.

"I have done a lot and got to accomplish all the additional and specialized training I wanted in the fire department," Billig said. "So I wanted to try something new."

Having served around so many aircraft as a firefighter, Billig began looking to the sky as the new thing to do and with the encouragement of his family, friends and supervisors he decided to become an officer with the goal of flying jets, he explained.

"My wife gave me a lot of push to make the jump and my supervisors really encouraged me," Billig said. "I flipped back and forth for a year before finally making my decision."

His mind set, Billig's quest to test into OTS began with a meeting at the education office where the future officer review boards were laid out before him. Already having a degree and determined to get a rated slot to fly, Billig began taking private pilot lessons from the Del Rio International Airport to be more competitive, he said.

Billig also began the process of navigating the maze work of papers and forms that had to be filed before the review board met in August.

"The forms were complicated and even they were a test of time management and skill to complete," Billig said.

In January, after hitting the books hard in preparation, he took the Air Force Officer Qualification Test and then was sent to Goodfellow AFB, Texas, to try his hand at the Test of Basic Aviation Skills.

"My wife really helped me with the math for the test and the TBAS was stressful since you had to do a lot of multitasking," Billig said. "You can only test two times in a lifetime so I'm glad the first time was a charm."

Everything came to a screeching halt however when an accident during Laughlin's Adventure Race VIII left him with a broken collarbone, stalling his private pilot license and leaving him wondering if he would heal in time for the board.

"I was worried when it happened," Billig said. "But Army doctors at Brooke Army Medical Center did a great job with me."

During his recovery, the encouragement to keep going and not give up continued, he said.

"Everyone I knew and worked with made sure I didn't overexert myself while recovering," Billig said. "And they all told me I have a chance and I have to take it."

He was cleared for duty on June 19, met the board on June 21 and Sept. 10 was notified that he had passed the board. Now he finds himself set to go to OTS with the chance at a rated position that could possibly send him back to Laughlin as a student pilot.

"When I doubted myself people told me 'I got this'," Billig said.

Through it all Billig believes it was Laughlin and the people of Team XL that he sees every day made his dream possible.

"Laughlin is a nice base, I get to see everyone here and can recognize so many faces that helped me each day," Billig said. "Being stationed here at Laughlin is a big factor to being where I am now."