Fischer reports for active duty

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Mike Fischer received the call to active duty Monday morning and he's answering it.

This morning, he reported for duty at 6 a.m. at the 133rd Air Wing at the Minnesota Air National Guard Base at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Fischer has mixed feelings about being recalled to active duty. It means leaving his girlfriend and their daughter. He feels a strong sense of resolve.

"Since I got the call, I realize I want to go, get the job done and come home," Fischer said.

For Fischer, a mechanic for Jensen Motors of New Ulm, it means doing one of the things he enjoys most -- mechanical work on four-engine, C130 turboprop cargo airplanes. They're the birds that can land on short runways or drop personnel and equipment into areas lacking an airfield.

He's a seasoned veteran when it comes to doing mechanical work on the cargo planes. A staff sergeant in the Air Guard, he can inspect and sign off for mechanics after they have proven their ability at doing various maintenance tasks.

Fischer served four years of active duty time working on C130s with the U.S. Air Force. His tour included duty at Reinmain Air Base in Frankfurt, Germany during the Bosnian war in 1995. He also served at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina.

He had his doubts about whether he'd enjoy working on C130s at first.

"At first, I thought, 'yuk, working on cargo planes,'" Fischer said. "Now, I'd rather work on them more than anything else. I've seen them circle and land with half a tail missing after colliding with a fighter jet."

He isn't sure where he will go to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

The son of Delbert Jr. and Adelle Fischer of rural New Ulm, Mike graduated from New Ulm High School in 1990. He was active in the Future Farmers of America Organization.

After a year of college studying to become a game warden at Vermillion Community College in Ely, Fischer decided he wanted to be around airplanes and joined the Air Force.

"I always liked airplanes and began to realize it more after seeing fighter planes from the Duluth Air Force base fly over Ely," Fischer said.

Doing mechanical work on C130 airplanes is much different than working on cars and trucks, according to Fischer.

"Technology on cars and trucks is constantly changing so you have to keep up with it," Fischer said. "The C130s haven't changed much since the 1950s. But we still all check each other's maintenance work on the airplanes."

He feels his aircraft maintenance work is important since the lives of aviators and other military personnel depend on it.