After 22 years of service and 3,200 hours in air, Fayette native retires
After 22 years of “faithful and productive service to the United States” that included 946 sorties, 3,200 flying hours, and travel to 40 countries, M/Sgt. Mark Borytsky, 40, retired from the Air Force on June 10. A Fayette County native, Borytsky’s stellar career with the Air Force filled two entire pages in his retirement ceremony program booklet. Just a few of the highlights of his military experience include being a member of the 91st Security Police Squadron at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, where he was selected to special tactics Emergency Services Team (EST) and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, after which he was sent to Lackland AFB in Texas. On his return to Minot, he became the sniper and instructor and EST team leader.
In September 1984, Borytsky was hand-picked to be part of a new Army/Air Force air defense system, known as the Stinger missile program, where he graduated at the top of his training class.
His new knowledge was then applied to assignments at the Kusan Air base in South Korea, as well as training exercises in the Philippine jungle, where a three-week-long experience with the Marines and international fighters earned him letters of appreciation from theater commanders for his zero misses of hundreds of assaulting aircraft utilizing the Stinger, a shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missile.
In February 1989, Borytsky was chosen to fly with the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP), a billion-dollar aircraft that directly supports the president and his cabinet.
Five years later, he applied for the position of flight steward and was accepted to the 1st Airborne Command Control Squadron, where he was responsible for the in-flight safety, emergency egress and comfort of his crew and passengers.
Just a few of the famous and influential guests for whom he served as flight steward include Secretaries of Defense William Perry and William Cohen, Secretary of State Madelaine Albright, Gen. John Shalikashvili of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Sen. John Warner, U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Johnstown), and Shane Osborn, commander of the reconnaissance plane downed over China.
For USO Christmas and other flights, he was steward for Terry Bradshaw, the Pointer Sisters, Christie Brinkley, Downtown Julie Brown, Al Franken, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Carol King and others.
Born in Canton, Ohio, on Feb. 19, 1963, Borytsky grew up in Uniontown, where he attended kindergarten and first grade at St. Joseph School.
When the school closed in 1970, he transferred to St. John Byzantine Church on Main Street in Uniontown. After he and his parents, Joseph and Veronica Borytsky, moved to Fairchance, he attended Fairchance-Georges High School.
“For someone who, as a child, was not allowed to have a BB gun or .22, it’s very ironic that Mark went on to become a sniper in the SWAT team,” said his father.
Borytsky’s interest in guns stemmed from a job he took at age 14 in a local kennel owned by ATF worker Tom O’Connell, whose collection of rifles and guns piqued his interest. Eventually, he persuaded O’Connell to teach him as much as he knew about firearms – and Borytsky’s been a marksman ever since.
Another person instrumental in shaping Borytsky’s career was his godfather, Steve Polink, then a vice principal at Fairchance-Georges High School.
“Originally, I wanted to go into the Marines, but Steve gave me a good overview of the other branches of the armed forces and recommended the Air Force,” said Borytsky. “The fact that my father had also been in the Air Force helped me make my final decision to join that branch of the armed services.”
Coincidentally, Borytsky was recruited by Air Force Sgt. Steve Riba, who also attended his place of worship – St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Uniontown. Now retired, Riba remains a resident of Fayette County.
Borytsky said that growing up in a patriotic area of the nation inspired him with the idea to serve his country. He also saw the Air Force as a good way to satisfy his appetite for travel, an opportunity that panned out by taking him to places like Israel, Kuwait, the Great Wall in China and Red Square in Moscow.
For someone bitten by the travel bug, Borytsky is the only one of his family to move away from the tri-state area. His parents still reside in Fairchance and his only sibling, sister, Amy Sementa, lives in Morgantown, W.Va., where she’s employed as a registered nurse. Borytsky also has “a slew’ of cousins, eight aunts and five uncles who still live around Uniontown.
Both of Borytsky’s parents flew to Omaha for his retirement ceremony. During their stay, they were housed in a suite at in the distinguished visitors’ quarters at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha.
“On entering the suite, we were presented with a note from Brigadier Gen. Timothy C. Jones thanking us for having ‘lent’ Mark to the Air Force,” said Joseph Borytsky.
Both parents were able to witness their son’s last, or “fini flight,” aboard an E-4B Boeing 747.
When the jet landed, they were on the runway and watched as he exited the plane and was showered with water from hoses by his family replicating an established Air Force custom.
The retirement ceremony was attended by Brigadier Gen. Timothy C. Jones, 55th Wing Commander Lt. Col. Robert F. Stammler, their wives, a corps of officers and citizens from Bellevue, a suburb of Omaha.
“The ceremony was very patriotic, touching and emotional, and we were filled with pride,” said Joseph Borytsky.
At the retirement dinner that evening, Borytsky was presented with gifts from his fellow crew members who often called him by his nickname, “Ski.”
For his work in the community as a board member of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, as an advisor to the Belleview Police Department and as a cubmaster teaching local Scouts science, history and engineering for which he was honored with the title “Cubmaster of the Year 2003,” Borytsky received an award from the mayor of Bellevue.
Currently, Borytsky lives in Omaha with his wife, the former Audrey C. Halterman of Fairchance, and their three sons, Mark Jr., 13; Lee, 11; and Bradley, 10. He now works as a civilian protocol specialist for the Air Force at the Offutt base.
“When I decided to retire from the military, I felt I had reached the top of many plateaus, had traveled to many countries, and that it was time to close another chapter of my life.
“To sum it up, my Air Force experience was one hell of a ride. Fortunately, I’m still able to serve my country in another capacity as a civilian,’ said Borytsky.