Dr. Philip A. Iannuzzi, Jr. — Air Force Colonel (Retired)
On Friday, August 5, 2022, I had the privilege to interview Dr. Philip A. Iannuzzi, Jr., United States Air Force Colonel (Retired). Mr. Iannuzzi served in the Air Force over twenty years in a variety of command, higher headquarters, and operational leadership positions, including assignments as a Major Command Division Chief, Director of Global Flight Operations, International Director and Air Branch Chief for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy, Commanding Officer of an Air Force KC-10 Extender Flying Squadron, and Air Staff Program Manager at the Pentagon. Following his service in the Air Force, Mr. Iannuzzi joined The Boeing Company. He holds a doctoral degree in educational leadership and is currently serving as a Workforce Development leader aligned to Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security (BDS) business unit. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Joshua Kupietzky: What is your background in the aviation industry?
Philip Iannuzzi: I have been involved in aviation and the field of aerospace my entire career, serving in leadership roles from first-level to executive, including roles leading multinational teams during international assignments. My initial involvement with aviation began as a cadet in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training program at Pennsylvania State University where I completed the Air Force flight screening program at University Park. I earned my pilot wings at Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas, then went on to fly and teach pilots how to fly Boeing KC-135 and Boeing/heritage-McDonnel Douglass KC-10 airlift and air refueling aircraft. I transitioned to the aviation industry after a full career in the Air Force. Having flown Boeing and other military aircraft from the aviation industry, trained pilots to fly those aircraft, commanded flying units employing those aircraft, partnered with industry technicians in the field during peacetime and wartime, and managed Air Force programs at the Pentagon, gave me valuable insight into the vital role the aviation industry serves in supporting U.S. national security strategy and policy.
JK: How did you decide to join the Air Force?
PI: At an early age, airplanes and flying airplanes captured my attention. I would build model airplanes and think about what it would be like to fly those aircraft. My interest in becoming a military pilot stemmed from that fascination. Joining the Air Force provided an opportunity for me to become a military officer and pilot. This became a professional career goal and I pursued a path to reach that objective through the Air Force officer training program.
JK: What aircraft types did you fly in the Air Force and which one was your favorite?
PI: I flew five different aircraft during my Air Force career. My favorite airplane to fly was the T-38 Talon. The Talon, once used by the Air Force Thunderbirds flying demonstration team, is a high-performance, supersonic jet that student pilots fly during pilot training. The jet is fully aerobatic and is often flown in two- and four-ship close formations. I went on to fly the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker during my first operational unit assignment. The ‘135’ is a Boeing 707 commercial-derivative aircraft modified to enable inflight aerial refueling and military airlift capability. After gaining operational experience in the ‘135,’ including roles as an instructor and flight examiner, I went on to train new KC-135 pilots and instructor pilots at our Air Force formal training school. At my mid-career point, I transitioned to fly and teach pilots how to fly the then-next-generation Air Force tanker, the KC-10 Extender. The KC-10 is a Boeing/heritage-McDonnell Douglass commercial-derivative aircraft modified to enable inflight aerial refueling as a tanker and a receiver, along with military airlift capability. While the ‘38’ was my favorite training aircraft to fly, the ‘10’ was my favorite operational aircraft to fly. The ‘10’ is a three-engine jumbo jet with twin-aisle capacity, and long-haul capability. In addition to its inflight air refueling capability, the ‘10’ also is designed to receive fuel in flight from other tankers, enabling extended on-station air refueling missions and rapid force projection missions for combat and combat support aircraft.
JK: What area of the world was the most difficult to fly in?
PI: The most difficult areas of the world to fly in were combat operating areas over Afghanistan and Iraq during U.S. and coalition air campaigns. Those flying environments were challenging because they required precise execution and timing as outlined in the combatant commander’s daily classified Air Tasking Order (ATO). The ATO choreographs 24/7 air campaign operations among hundreds of daily combat sorties, each with its own mission objective based upon the aircraft’s role. Keep in mind that combat air missions are conducted in unfriendly radar-restricted, radio communication-restricted, and aircraft lighting-restricted airspace, with most sorties flown at night and often in unfavorable weather conditions. Sound ATO flight procedures and instructions, along with well-trained aircrews ensure safe and reliable execution of air power missions in heavily defended and congested airspace.
JK: What was your most cherished memory of serving in the military?
PI: Some of my most cherished memories are those associated with the strong bonds of friendship made serving alongside fellow service members, including civil service colleagues and international coalition partners around the world. My most cherished memory, however, was serving as commanding officer of a KC-10 flying squadron, the 2nd Air Refueling Squadron, during four expeditionary deployments in the months and years following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The squadron’s primary air mission during those deployments was to provide sustained aerial refueling operations for U.S. and coalition combat and combat support aircraft conducting air power missions during air campaigns over Afghanistan and Iraq. The 2nd Air Refueling Squadron is the second oldest flying squadron in the U.S. military. Its lineage dates back to 1915 when it was activated as the 2nd Aero Squadron. (Interview note: you can learn more about the squadron’s history here.)
There was one series of air refueling missions during my time as a squadron commander that stand out as most memorable because those missions occurred during the initial air strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan shortly after the 9/11 attacks. The missions serve as an example of the critical role air refueling plays in ‘fueling the fight’ when executing U.S. national security strategy. On September 20, 2001, operational KC-10 squadrons—flight crews, maintainers, and squadron support staff—received special orders to mobilize and rapidly deploy twelve KC-10 aircraft and more than 250 personnel halfway around the world to Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The purpose of the special order deployment was to rapidly stand up the 2nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron to support the then-classified air refueling missions for B-2 Spirit stealth bomber aircraft flying directly from their home base at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, to conduct the first air power strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban targets deep inside Afghanistan. The B-2 bombers were chosen to spearhead the U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks because their stealth capability made them hard to find with radar and other sensing devices. Each B-2 could carry and deliver extremely precise, satellite-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions, called JDAMs, with up to 40,000 pounds of bombs in each aircraft’s twin weapon bays, making the bomber a highly reliable weapon system for the ‘knock-down-the-door’ missions. For operational security, President George W. Bush authorized the B-2s to fly west from the U.S., across the Pacific. No one expected that, adding the element of surprise.
Within hours of the 2nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron’s KC-10 force closure at Anderson Air Force Base, while aircrew members were in crew rest, squadron maintainers worked diligently to upload fuel, perform preflight inspections, and prepare all twelve jets for launch early the next morning. The success of the B-2 air refueling missions relied upon all twelve jets getting off the ground on time and offloading the required fuel to the bombers. At ‘o’ dark thirty’ the next morning, all aircrew members reported to the squadron briefing room where my Director of Operations and I provided a pre-departure briefing. Within hours, the first three jets launched as a three-ship KC-10 formation, followed by three sets of three-ship KC-10 formations in fifteen-minute launch windows. Each formation of KC-10s climbed to meet their B-2 bombers over the Pacific Ocean to offload maximum fuel to the bomber aircraft. Operating under restricted radio communication procedures and navigating around unexpected Pacific Ocean thunderstorms, the KC-10 and B-2 crews successfully accomplished their air refueling missions, enabling the B-2 aircraft to continue on course to their designated targets. These air refueling missions were the third inflight refueling for the B-2 pilots, as part of a ‘daisy chain’ inflight air refueling strategy that included many other KC-10 and KC-135 units strategically located along the bombers’ route of flight into Afghanistan. Two additional inflight refuelings remained for the B-2 pilots before entering Afghanistan airspace to strike their targets. Bomber crews would find themselves flying 30 consecutive hours from their launch base in Missouri just to get to the target area in Afghanistan. One crew was aloft for 44 hours and 20 minutes prior to a planned landing at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean after their strike mission. The jet was refueled on the ground with engines running prior to receiving a new crew to return the B-2 to its home base in Missouri. After departing Diego Garcia, B-2 pilots would receive fuel inflight from tankers along their route to get home. Some of these continuous engine-running missions lasted over seventy hours. The 44-hour and 20-minute bombing mission set an aviation record as the longest combat bombing sortie in history . . . enabled by inflight air refueling missions. (Interview note: you can learn more about the historic aviation mission here.)
Colonel Iannuzzi and his wife, Maria, at the 2d Aero Squadron’s 100th Anniversary
JK: What was the most challenging aspect of transitioning from the military back to civilian life and working at Boeing?
PI: Overall, the Air Force does a great job helping veterans and their family’s transition from the military back to civilian life. My transition included a final move from Georgia to Pennsylvania, our thirteenth family relocation. In 2008, I began working for Boeing as a site leader at one of our C-17 Globemaster aircrew training centers at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. Moving into a civilian job at Boeing that I was familiar with made my transition less challenging than it could have been. That said, I’d say the most challenging aspect of the transition involved the next phase of my Boeing career when I moved into a senior leader role with Boeing’s production system training (PST) group where I led technical training teams managing training centers at eight aircraft, satellite, and space system manufacturing sites across the enterprise. I knew how to fly and train pilots to fly Boeing aircraft; however, I had a lot to learn about how we train, certify, qualify, and recertify production system technicians, specialists, assemblers, mechanics, and inspectors to safely perform their manufacturing and quality assurance jobs. I overcame the challenge with the help of experienced colleagues, subject matter experts, and highly qualified instructors. With their support, I quickly learned the production system training policies, processes, and procedures required to certify, qualify, and recertify employees to safely perform aerospace manufacturing, inspection, flight test, and delivery of Boeing aircraft, satellites, and space systems with the highest quality for our commercial and military customers.
JK: What are your goals for your role as a Workforce Development leader supporting Boeing’s goals and priorities, short- and long-term?
PI: As a leading global aerospace company and top U.S. exporter, Boeing develops, manufactures, and services commercial airplanes, defense products, and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. Boeing’s diverse team is committed to innovating for the future, leading with sustainability, and cultivating a culture based on the company’s core values of safety, quality and integrity. In my Workforce Development role, I partner with Learning & Development colleagues, business and function leaders to support Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) leaders and their teams with high quality learning, training, and development solutions that enable BDS to achieve its business goals, priorities, and milestones. The goal is to ensure learning, training, and development solutions support BDS business strategy by providing our workforce the knowledge, skill, and ability to manage, lead, engineer, design, develop, manufacture, test, deliver, and service commercial airplanes, defense products, and space systems that add value to our global customers. (Interview note: you can learn more about The Boeing Company here.)
JK: What do you anticipate happening to the space industry in the next decade? What would you like to see happen? And when will space travel be a common occurrence?
PI: I anticipate accelerated growth in the space industry over the next decade. Government, military, and commercial space programs will drive significant investments in space systems. The U.S. Space Force, for example, will require the space industry to provide innovative space system solutions to support its global space operation mission. In the near term, I would like to see U.S. investments continue with NASA’s Artemis program and the Space Launch System rocket, with the longer term goal of putting the first humans on Mars.
NASA’s Artemis I program is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the Moon and Mars. NASA, the United States, and the space industry are building the most powerful rocket ever built, the new super heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, to get humans and large payloads to the moon and Mars. The Space Launch System is the size of a 38-story building and can produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust at launch. Boeing is providing its avionics, core stage, and upper stages to support the Artemis moon missions and make the next generation of human spaceflight possible. NASA plans to send astronauts back to the moon on the Orion capsule by 2024 – this time to stay.
Regarding your question about when space travel will be a common occurrence, we are seeing the beginning phase of that phenomenon emerge through the commercial space transportation systems developed by Boeing, Space X, and Blue Origin, among other companies in the space industry. Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation-100 Starliner spacecraft is being developed in collaboration with NASA's Commercial Crew Program. NASA is Boeing's anchor customer for the Starliner, beginning with missions to the International Space Station carrying NASA and NASA-sponsored crew members. Along with other companies in the space industry, Boeing’s Starliner is setting the foundation for commercial passenger spaceflight services to and from low-Earth orbit. (Interview note: you can learn more about NASA’s Artemis and Commercial Crew programs here.)
JK: We started this interview talking about your background in the aviation industry. What advice do you have for young people trying to start a career in the aviation/space industry?
PI: Be persistent in pursuit of your goals and aspirations. Your commitment will overcome inevitable challenges and setbacks. Learn from your setbacks, failures and successes. Build a network of support among family, friends, work colleagues, leaders, mentors, and community partners. Invest in your personal and professional development through lifelong learning opportunities. Establish professional relationships with mentors and leaders. Their support will help unlock your potential and talents by challenging you to push yourself beyond your perceived capabilities. Help others pursue and achieve their goals and aspirations. Give back by supporting aviation-related causes. Have fun!
