Air show is a homecoming for B-52 officer

Jessica Critcher is coming home for the Cherry Point Air Show - in a 92-ton airplane.

Critcher, a captain in the U.S. Air Force, is the electronics warfare officer of a B-52 bomber that will be on display during this weekend's air show.

"The last time I was home was Christmas two years ago," said Critcher, a 1996 Havelock High graduate. "I'm looking forward to coming to Cherry Point. I'll get to see my parents and a lot of girls I know from East Carolina and other relatives are coming in. It's kind of cool."

Critcher, who is stationed at Barksdale Air Force base in northwest Louisiana, said the visit home could not be timed any better.

"We're getting ready to deploy in a couple of weeks," she said.

She said some AV-8B Harriers from Cherry Point appeared at the Barksdale air show in May, so Barksdale is returning the favor by providing a B-52 for display at the Cherry Point show.

Critcher said she enjoys the air shows and meeting people, having been to others including one at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro.

"Most people want to know how many bombs we can hold," she said, adding the amount the 159-foot long airplane can carry depends on the type of weapons.

But, her job on the five-person crew has nothing to do with the bombs. She is responsible for defending the huge plane from attack, such as from surface-to-air missiles.

"It's similar to an ECMO (electronics countermeasures officer) on a Prowler," she said, comparing her job to that of one in the Marine Corps.

Her father, Richard, is a retired Marine, and she said they have had fun comparing and contrasting her Air Force with his Marine Corps.

"There's always a little rivalry there," she said. "We always joke that we bail those guys (ground troops) out."

All joking aside, she admitted she has tremendous respect for those on the ground fighting the war on terror.

"Those guys deserve all the credit," she said. "We're pretty high in the air, but those guys on the ground, they're tough."

But for now, she is just happy to be coming home.

"I'm looking forward to it," she said. "It's good to be back home and coming to Cherry Point, especially right before our deployment."