thedrifter
04-11-08, 02:45 PM
As pilot for president, local grad gets around
Friday, April 11, 2008
By Jessica Driscoll
jdriscoll@sjnewsco.com
DEPTFORD TWP. Maj. Steven Robinson never imagined that one day he would fly the president of the United States around the country, own 12 identical black suits or drive the king of Jordan's personal Ferrari.
But these days, Robinson a graduate of Williamstown High School, Gloucester County College and Glassboro State College (now Rowan) does just that as a member of the Marine One Advance squadron. On Thursday, he spoke to Loretta Honeyman's criminal justice class at Deptford High School about his experiences.
"I got lucky," said Robinson. "I started off as a jet mechanic in the Navy before joining the Marines. You need about 2,000 hours of flight experience to apply for the presidential squadron, which was about six years with the Marines. And now, I'm flying the president, vice president and heads of state."
Robinson's latest assignment is to fly the Pope during his visit to the United States.
"It's ironic, really," he said. "I think I'm the only Protestant in the squadron and I'm the one assigned to fly him."
Robinson said his job was not instantly glamorous.
"First, I was mostly flying the press that accompanies the president on his trips," he said. "When we transport the president, there are three different helicopters and also jets circling nearby. For the first three months of this job, you're the guy that would get shot down first."
Robinson said his boss, ultimately, is President George W. Bush. However, his job is far from political.
"When people come up to me and ask why the president did this or said that, I tell them, We drive the bus. We don't write the speeches,' " he said.
Part of Robinson's job is to plan routes with Secret Service agents before presidential trips and when he is on-duty in that location, he dresses just like those ultimate protectors.
"We wear the same suits as the Secret Service guys, so we look basically identical except for a small badge," he said. "The difference is that I've never been trained to take a bullet and I hope I never have to."
Robinson said his favorite helicopter to fly is the Blackhawk, which can travel about 200 mph.
"This is the best helicopter in the world by far," he said. "It's the fastest, it can go the farthest and it's the easiest to start. But, it's not very presidential' because he has to crouch to get in or out of it, so it's not his favorite. In a situation where we need to get him out of somewhere in a hurry, though, it's our first choice."
Robinson has traveled all over the country and the world with President Bush and his cabinet and said that though many complain about this country, visiting some of these other places made him realize how good he has it.
And though he is a seasoned professional at this point, Robinson admitted he is sometimes still in awe of his job.
"I've been to so many places and in so many situations I just never could have imagined."
Ellie
Friday, April 11, 2008
By Jessica Driscoll
jdriscoll@sjnewsco.com
DEPTFORD TWP. Maj. Steven Robinson never imagined that one day he would fly the president of the United States around the country, own 12 identical black suits or drive the king of Jordan's personal Ferrari.
But these days, Robinson a graduate of Williamstown High School, Gloucester County College and Glassboro State College (now Rowan) does just that as a member of the Marine One Advance squadron. On Thursday, he spoke to Loretta Honeyman's criminal justice class at Deptford High School about his experiences.
"I got lucky," said Robinson. "I started off as a jet mechanic in the Navy before joining the Marines. You need about 2,000 hours of flight experience to apply for the presidential squadron, which was about six years with the Marines. And now, I'm flying the president, vice president and heads of state."
Robinson's latest assignment is to fly the Pope during his visit to the United States.
"It's ironic, really," he said. "I think I'm the only Protestant in the squadron and I'm the one assigned to fly him."
Robinson said his job was not instantly glamorous.
"First, I was mostly flying the press that accompanies the president on his trips," he said. "When we transport the president, there are three different helicopters and also jets circling nearby. For the first three months of this job, you're the guy that would get shot down first."
Robinson said his boss, ultimately, is President George W. Bush. However, his job is far from political.
"When people come up to me and ask why the president did this or said that, I tell them, We drive the bus. We don't write the speeches,' " he said.
Part of Robinson's job is to plan routes with Secret Service agents before presidential trips and when he is on-duty in that location, he dresses just like those ultimate protectors.
"We wear the same suits as the Secret Service guys, so we look basically identical except for a small badge," he said. "The difference is that I've never been trained to take a bullet and I hope I never have to."
Robinson said his favorite helicopter to fly is the Blackhawk, which can travel about 200 mph.
"This is the best helicopter in the world by far," he said. "It's the fastest, it can go the farthest and it's the easiest to start. But, it's not very presidential' because he has to crouch to get in or out of it, so it's not his favorite. In a situation where we need to get him out of somewhere in a hurry, though, it's our first choice."
Robinson has traveled all over the country and the world with President Bush and his cabinet and said that though many complain about this country, visiting some of these other places made him realize how good he has it.
And though he is a seasoned professional at this point, Robinson admitted he is sometimes still in awe of his job.
"I've been to so many places and in so many situations I just never could have imagined."
Ellie