One Airman, Global Impact: Chief Master Sgt. Bohdan Pywowarczuk

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Timm Huffman
  • Headquarters Individual Reservist Readiness and Integration Organization

When Chief Master Sgt. Bohdan Pywowarczuk came to the Individual Mobilization Augmentee program from the traditional reserve, he was seeking upward mobility.

The move offered a promotion to chief master sergeant and the opportunity to bring a highly-specialized skill set to the active duty.

Pywowarczuk, who, as an IMA, is a still imagery and intelligence applications manager at Pacific Command, Joint Information Operations Center, Joint Detachment-Denver (JDET-Denver), is also a radar scientist at Raytheon as a civilian, developing and researching the same systems he works with as an Airman.

The joint senior enlisted leader said he first got interested in the science behind his intel job during his initial active-duty tour. After serving as an imagery analyst at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, he left the Air Force to pursue his education and wound up with a master’s degree in physics. During this break in service, he also finished up the pilot training he had started while in the service, earning his private and commercial pilot’s license.

He returned to the Air Force as a traditional reservist at the 701st Combat Operations Squadron at March Air Reserve Base, California.

After working for a number of years as a pilot, Pywowarczuk leveraged his military experience and education into a career at Raytheon, where he is a researcher for products to be used in military applications.  

In 2012 he was ready for a change in his Air Force job, and more flexibility. He left the traditional reserve to be an IMA at JDET-Denver, where now manages a joint reserve team of intelligence specialists. Pywowarczuk said that because IMAs are responsible for managing every aspect of their own career, they have deep personal knowledge of the Air Force. He said the broader experience base of IMAs allows them to have a bigger-picture understanding of where they fit into the mission. He believes these two factors create strong non-commissioned and senior non-commissioned officers who are capable of guiding younger Airmen through their careers.

While advancing his civilian and military careers, Pywowarczuk has also continued flying. He is currently an aerobatic flight instructor at Mid-way Airport, Waxahachie, Texas. He has about 3,600 flight hours now and currently offers training flights to several students a month.

He said he’s had students throw airplanes into all kinds of crazy spins, but his closest call came when one student let go of the controls when they were on final approach for landing. This caused the plane to nose down toward the ground. Pywowarczuk had to react quickly and take over. He said he pulled “three Gs” in order to avoid slamming into the ground.

“[Teaching aerobatics] is like riding with someone on their first roller coaster ride,” he said, noting that most people only experience straight and level flying and don’t get to experience the full capabilities of what an aircraft can do.

Pywowarczuk said his military and civilian careers are complimentary. On the one hand, he brings knowledge of how the military operators use the equipment to his job at Raytheon. And on the other, he brings a deep understanding of the inner-workings of the equipment to his Air Force job where he can explain the equipment design to his Airmen.

IMAs are Air Force Reservists assigned to active-duty organizations. They are required to serve between 24 and 36 days each year, depending on their position but may volunteer to fill additional needs. There are more than 7,200 IMAs assigned to major commands, combatant commands and government agencies around the world.

To learn more about the program, which is open to Airmen, as well as the joint services, visit www.arpc.afrc.af.mil/HQRIO.aspx.