The Air Force made a bit of history last week: For the first time since it became a separate service in 1947, enlisted pilots strapped into cockpits and flew solo missions.

The two airmen in question flew the single-engine DA-20, a trainer aircraft based at Pueblo, Colorado last Thursday. They’re among the first trainees in an Air Force program to begin relieving crisis-level pilot shortages by using enlisted personnel to operate the unarmed Global Hawk drone, but per Air Force regulations, even the pilots of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) need to earn their wings in manned aircraft first.

“It’s a great opportunity that we’re getting enlisted pilots back into the full force,” said an Air Force master sergeant the Air Force identified only as Mike (another Air Force policy bans publicizing the full names of RPA pilots).

He’s one of just four enlisted pilots the Air Force has allowed into its first class of enlisted pilots that initially aims to recruit airmen who are already highly familiar with the service’s unmanned platforms; he’s currently an RPA maintainer with extensive experience as a private pilot.

“There are a lot of opportunities that could become available to enlisted Airmen,” he said in a statement provided by Air Force Education and Training Command. “If there is something you really want, it’s achievable. You just have to put in the effort.”

For now, he’s only one of a very small handful of enlisted airmen to be offered those opportunities. The Air Force is taking an extremely cautious approach toward ditching its tradition of only letting commissioned officers fly aircraft. Only 12 enlisted personnel have been allowed into the program, which will take about a year. Officials will assess the results after that and decide whether to expand it.

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