Scott welcomes 7-year-old 'Pilot for a Day' Published June 8, 2006 By Tech. Sgt. Brian Davidson 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. 6/8/06 -- -- Seven-year-old Devin Fort spends most of his days at home facing daily injections, and when he does venture out, it’s for weekly trips to the hospital where he undergoes transfusions of blood platelets and red blood cells. On June 1, he was able to forget about shots and transfusions, at least for a while, when he was honored as Scott’s newest “Pilot for a Day.” Devin began his visit to Scott at the control tower where 375th Operations Support Squadron air traffic controller Staff Sgt. David Milcarek taught him how to guide aircraft in for a safe landing in the air traffic control simulator. Watching a 180 degree simulation of the airfield, Sergeant Milcarek prompted Devin how to bring in an F-16. “Fast one-four, Scott tower, report five-mile final,” he said into his headset microphone, and then watched wide-eyed as the computer replied “Roger, report five-mile final,” and the fighter jet made a final approach and landing. After his ATC training, Devin was awarded a 5-skill level badge by Master Sgt. Robert Jackson and then taken to the tower cab where he was given the unique opportunity to see Scott from a bird’s eye view. Devin was accompanied on his Pilot for a Day experience by his father David Fort, an Illinois State Police homicide investigator, his mother Kim Fort, a kindergarten teacher, and his big brother, 11-year-old David, Jr. Devin suffers from aplastic anemia, a disease that causes bone marrow to stop producing new blood cells including red blood cells that carry oxygen, white blood cells that fight germs and platelets that help blood clot. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, aplastic anemia is rare, and affects fewer than 1,000 people each year in the United States. For Devin, relief from transfusions and daily injections will only come from a bone marrow transplant. He is currently on the marrow registry waiting list and his family is hoping a match will be found. “He really doesn’t realize how sick he is,” Devin’s mother explained. “The sooner a donor match is found the better, because time and multiple transfusions decrease the chances of a successful transplant.” As Devin’s mother explained the illness, Sergeant Milcarek lifted Devin up onto a counter and gave him a pair of binoculars so he could look out for inbound aircraft. After his visit to the tower, Devin and his family were treated to lunch at the Nightingale Inn Dining Facility before he was offered the chance to fly the simulator and earn his wings as a KC- 135 pilot. “This is Scott’s fifth year for the ‘Pilot for a Day’ program, and we host about six children each year,” said 1st. Lt. Dave Paland, 458th Airlift Squadron Pilot for a Day program coordinator. “It’s all about the kids, and it gives us a chance to help them have a unique experience and forget about their illnesses for a while.” During his day at Scott, Devin was given his own specially fitted flight suit complete with his name and official wing patches. “This is a lot more than we expected,” Devin’s mom said as Airmen provided red-carpet treatment to the Fort family. He’ll be talking about this day for the rest of the summer.”