Aim High. Fly. Fight. Win. This has been the U.S. Air Force motto since 2010.
One example of living this motto is Capt. Anthony P. Carella. A native of Mercerville, Carella is a decorated Air Force pilot who recently joined the elite 89th Airlift Wing, which operates Air Force One and Two, flying the president, vice president and other important passengers.
Carella attended Our Lady of Sorrows elementary in Mercerville and graduated from Notre Dame High School in Lawrence. His mother was an Italian teacher at Notre Dame for many years, and his dad owns a power generator business.
Carella is also grandson to the family that began the Hamilton staple Carella’s Shoe Store and later Carella’s Chocolates, both on Nottingham way.
“My dad also worked on a farm at one time. I saw that and with helping with the generator business, I appreciated the hands-on, mechanical work that was necessary to be successful,” Carella says.
Carella, 30, attended Virginia Tech after high school. His goal was to study aerospace engineering. While at Virginia Tech, Carella also joined the Corps of Cadets in his freshman year.
The Corp of Cadets is in the same vein as Reserve Officer Training Corps, but often requires full immersion in the military lifestyle.
So while excelling at his aerospace engineering major, Carella was taking minors in mathematics and leadership. It was at that point where discussions with the other cadets made Carella feel as though he had a chance at pilot school. His education in aerospace and leadership gave him a leg up to get chosen for the highly sought posting.
He was accepted, and on his Virginia Tech graduation day was also commissioned by the Air Force as a second lieutenant. Pilot school did not begin until January, so Carella worked construction at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford.
Pilot training was at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, near the border with Mexico.
“It was the hardest thing I have ever done. One and a half years. It was like a fire hose of information. We started with learning the DA20 propeller plane, then the T6 Turbo Prop. We moved up to T1 Jayhawk Twin Jet engine trainer plane,” Carella says.
“We had to memorize how each plane operated and all of the emergency procedures.”
Carella felt that flying also corresponded to how he approached his previous schooling. “The math, science and my mechanical understanding, really help me understand flying and the dynamics of piloting these planes,” he says.
Carella graduated pilot school in May 2019 and got his wings. “After getting your wings, it is what is called Drop Night. The orders drop with the information about where you will be stationed. My orders had me report to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. The base is right in the middle of Tampa Bay,” he says.
The wing he was assigned was a refueling detail and he would be flying KC135s. The KC135 training was in Oklahoma, where the air space was more empty and available than the east coast.
The KC135 training was 5 months long. The KC135s operate with a 3 person crew of two pilots and a boom operator. The refueling plane can carry more than 20,000 gallons of fuel. The boom operator delivers the fuel via a long boom to which the fighters and other planes connect to while in flight.
Leaving Oklahoma brought Carella to Washington State for survival training. The survival training brings the possible threat of being stranded behind enemy lines into real focus for the pilots.
Carella was back in Florida for a brief stay before being deployed to Qatar on the Arabian Peninsula. The KC135 wing kept the fighters and other military planes fueled over the Middle Eastern skies.
Back home was Carella’s girlfriend, Tara. The couple met at Virginia Tech. She was staying on at VT attending medical school. “It was very hard while we were apart. While in New Jersey, I could drive down on weekends, but when I was away, we kept together with late night phone calls, keeping all the time differences in mind,” he says.
They were married in 2021 during a break from both their busy schedules. Tara is from Long Island, and is now finishing her residency in Tampa.
They will finally be together full time again in a few months. “The first deployment was really tough. It gets a little easier but you know…” he says, as his voice trails off.
It was during Carella’s fourth deployment to the Middle East when events took a turn from routine to being in the line of fire. On April 13, 2024, during Operation Inherent Resolve, flying in the Central Command area of responsibility, Carella’s plane was on a combat refueling mission.
As the Air Force special order reads, “The crew found themselves in a direct line of fire between two regional adversaries.” Which proved to be local adversaries firing missiles, rockets, and armed drones at another region in the area, putting Carella and crew in the very dangerous airspace.
“All of a sudden there were streaks of light all over the night skies. I mean all over. Our training kicked in high gear and we kept to our mission,” Carella says. “We made some evasive adjustments, but kept the fighter planes fueled as they were able to hunt and neutralize hundreds of drones.”
The regional adversary attack failed, and this contributed to the de-escalation of the regions tensions over the next few days. For his actions, Carella received the Distinguished Flying Cross, a military decoration awarded to members of the United States armed forces for exceptional achievement or heroism during aerial flight.
“We were doing what we always do. We are so well trained that what we do is automatic,” Carella says humbly. “There is no time to think, just to react.”
Back home in Tampa, Carella tried for and was invited to apply in person for the 89th Airlift Wing based out Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The Executive Air Force Wing is in charge of transporting elected and military officials on Air Force One and Two.
The president and vice president are two of the hundred odd passengers that might travel on the Executive Airlift Aircraft. The plane utilized depends on the number of passengers and the destination. There are multiple 737s specially outfitted and maintained.
“The interview process was intense. It was a weeklong in person interview. There was flying, testing, background, and psychological testing. The final interview was with a board of very senior officers.”
Carella was accepted, and began with the Air Force Two detail in October 2024. He is currently a co-pilot who flies up to five times a month. He is on track to eventually be a primary pilot.
“I am happy to be back closer to my family in New Jersey and Tara’s family on Long Island,” Carella says. “She is so supportive, I cannot wait until she is able to move up to the Annapolis area, where we will live. She is an OB-GYN physician and already has a job here waiting.”
Carella says that the duty of flying Air Force Two really does give him a sense of higher purpose — no pun intended.
“Yes we are transporting people from A to B, but we are assisting and helping diplomacy and other events of national interest to happen,” he says. “This is no joyride. This is meaningful. We have a mission, and perform it with purpose and pride.”
Flying the heads of the country is a huge responsibility and Capt. Carella takes it very seriously. Before the U.S. Air Force’s Aim High motto came about, the words of inspiration were: I Pursue with Wings. With wings indeed.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles Bolton, 18th Air Force commander, right, with recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross, assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing, at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, Jan. 23, 2025. Mercerville native, Capt. Anthony Carella, is second from left. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren Cobin.),
