INDUSTRY – Whether calling the shots on the football field or in the air, Dustin Ireland is still challenging himself.

The Industry man is a fighter pilot in the Air Force who remains proud of his western Maine roots. This week he leaves for his first assignment with a fighter squadron, in preparation for service in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Mainers may remember Ireland, 25, as a talented quarterback while he was playing for Mt. Blue High School. In his senior year, 1997, he was awarded the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy as outstanding football player in Maine.

Though the training has been challenging and long, he made it.

“To be trusted and responsible for a multimillion dollar system still amazes me,” he said last week in an interview conducted via e-mail. “I still remember my parents not trusting me to borrow the car for a few hours.

“Now the government is allowing me to not only fly, but has entrusted me with an awesome amount of firepower,” he said. “The entire aviation world is amazing, and the amount of responsibility each pilot holds is very humbling,” Ireland said.

Unique program

Ireland grew up on Clearwater Pond in the Franklin County town just northeast of Farmington. When he was growing up there, the town had about 700 residents. His dad, Lee Ireland, is currently the town’s first selectman.

Two weeks after his high school graduation, he reported to the Air Force Academy. It was a very different world.

“I still remember the day because it was the longest day of my life,” Ireland said . “It was nonstop briefings, equipment issue, uniform issue and continuous corrections by the upperclassmen.”

The academy had recruited him to play football, moving him to wide receiver. After graduating with a degree in biology, Ireland earned a slot to the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training. It’s at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Out of about 1,000 graduates, only 60 were able to attend that unique program, he said. The 55-week program is the world’s only multinational program chartered to produce combat pilots for NATO. Ireland logged about 260 hours in two multi-engine jet aircraft and 578 hours of ground training, racking up flying and academic awards along the way.

Firepower

With every step, he’s felt that much closer to his goal of being a fighter pilot, he said.

“Due partly to my success, I earned my first choice in aircraft and selected the A-10 Thunderbolt II, a single-seat fighter plane, also known as the Warthog’ or Tank Killer,'” Ireland said. This aircraft provides close air support to the troops on the ground, he said.

“I wanted to fly this aircraft so that I could support these troops and provide them with the protection they need,” Ireland said.

He trained on the Thunderbolt in Arizona and learned to shoot the GAU-8 gun, the main weapon on the aircraft. This seven-barrel Gatling gun fires 30 mm rounds at an “unbelievable rate,” and is the most devastating gun in the Air Force’s inventory, Ireland said.

“When you pull the trigger, the jet comes alive and vibrates enormously,” Ireland said. “You can smell the gun powder through your mask, and when you fire the gun at night, fire literally shoots out the front of the nose and you can’t see anything through night vision goggles until you let off the trigger.”

Hometown pride

But Ireland said the highlight of his in Arizona was getting engaged to his college sweetheart, Aubrie Rooney.

On Wednesday, July 21, Ireland leaves for his first assignment, at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska, where he’ll join up with the 355 Fighter Squadron, which is currently deployed to Afghanistan.

He has eight flights to do in Alaska before he’s a fully deployable, mission-ready pilot who could be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.

But no matter how far he goes, Ireland said he appreciates the values instilled in his home community.

“Having seen a lot of the United States, I am proud to be from Industry, Maine,” he said. “You don’t realize how much you appreciate somewhere until you are gone. The values and support this community taught and gave me are the reason why I am where I am today,” he said. “And for that I am truly grateful.”

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