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During the Pathfinder course, Lomonof trained with Green Berets, infantrymen, and Soldiers from other military units on Fort Campbell but on graduation day he was the first recorded Soldier from his own specialty to complete the course and earn the coveted Pathfinder wings; SGT Lomonof is an instructor-qualified saxophonist with the 101st Airborne Division Band.
SGT Lomonof joined the Army in 2004 as a musician on the recommendation of a friend who was serving in the 85th US Army Reserve Band. After studying saxophone at Illinois State University SGT Lomonof transferred to the Active Duty Army in 2009 and eventually volunteered to serve in the most powerful, admired, and respected division in the world, the elite Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
The pathfinder course, Conducted at Fort Campbell’s Sabalauski Air Assault School, offers a laundry list of challenges from setting up aircraft drop zones to extensive sling-load operations. Each student must study and memorize a vast amount of information about military aircraft for any possible mission including Air Assault and Airborne operations. When asked what the toughest part of the class was, SGT Lomonof replied, “We were given numbers, statistics, and equations, and then were expected to put them into practice the very next day. It was like drinking from a fire hose.” Attention to detail and the ability to absorb information quickly are essential for successfully completing the pathfinder course because the skills will be called upon when lives are at stake.
Pathfinder training is broken down into three phases. The first phase covers helicopter (called ‘rotary wing’ in the military) and airplane specifications and capabilities (or ‘fixed wing aircraft’), working with maps, and “sling load” inspections which enables helicopters to safely carry equipment underneath the airframe. Then Soldiers are trained to establish and operate helicopter landing and drop zones before a final exercise that challenges the trainees to perform in a simulated real-life scenario known as a field training exercise or FTX.
Just over a thousand Soldiers a year begin the training at Fort Campbell and approximately 600 earn the privilege to wear the pathfinder badge, a torch, which symbolizes the purpose of a pathfinder, to “Light the Way” for the forces that follow. The Pathfinder’s motto: “First In, Last Out.”
“Some soldiers have to wait their whole career to get a chance for the Pathfinder badge. I am very appreciative of my command team for allowing me the opportunity” said SGT Lomonof after graduation.
SGT Lomonof’s sister, Megan Lomonof, is a piccolo player in Pershing’s Own ceremonial band in Washington, DC.
Edited by 1SG Daniel Shannon
