Paul Voss

1973 - 2020

Lt Col Paul Voss, 46, assigned as the Exercise Branch Chief, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base Virginia, died January 27, 2020. Paul was the pilot and aircraft commander of the Bombardier E-11A that crashed in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan while bravely serving his country on a voluntary deployment in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, on 20 May 1973, he was the son of Edwin and Therese (Terri) Voss and older brother to Simone Voss and Sharon Wyatt (Ian Wyatt brother-in-law) and uncle to Alice Wyatt.

He grew up in the Seychelles until the age of 14, then he moved to his hometown of Yigo, Guam at the age of 15 where he completed high school and enlisted in the Air Force.

Paul's enlisted Air Force career began in March of 1995 a KC-10 communication and navigation maintenance Journeyman. During his Communication/Navigation technical training at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, he met and married Shannon (Greer) on November 3, 1995. Following their graduation, Paul and Shannon were both stationed at Travis AFB, CA. During that time Paul was a Communication/Navigation Journeyman with the 660th Aircraft Generation Squadron where his love grew for learning and understanding everything that could be known about the KC-10 air refueling aircraft. Pursuing his passion, he became a Communication/Navigation Maintenance Qualification Training Instructor, at the 60th Logistics Support Squadron. He finished his enlisted career in that role, as a respected member of his team.

While enlisted, he pursued higher education, earning his BS degree in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University. Later, he completed his MA in Aviation Education in 2011 from Trident University.

He was accepted into Officer Training School as an Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) student and was commissioned on the 15th of November, 2001.

In 2001, Paul and Shannon moved to Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma for pilot training.

He graduated UPT in 2003 and was assigned as a KC-10 Pilot at McGuire AFB, New Jersey. As a KC-10 pilot, he flew 84 Combat, 19 Combat support, and 308 sorties for a total of 633.4 Combat, 141.4 Combat support, and 1870.8 hours in the KC-10. In 2008, he was assigned to Columbus AFB as an Instructor Pilot where he flew 597.7 hours teaching future Air Force aviators the art and science of military aviation. In 2010, he volunteered to Deploy to Bagram AB, Afghanistan to fly the MC-12W. In the MC-12W he flew 117 Combat sorties resulting in 576.8 Combat hours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2012, he was assigned to Beale AFB to fly the RQ-4B as Evaluator Pilot amassing 94.7 Combat Support hours and 38 Combat Support sorties with a total of 312.1 remote pilot hours. In 2014, he was selected as the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron's Director of Operations where he oversaw 314 missions, 6000 flight hours, collecting 2000 hours of signals intelligence, and 100,000 images across 55,000 targets. He also earned his call sign "TABS" during this assignment. He felt so honored to receive a call sign of endearment by his fellow aviators and especially as a tanker pilot. In 2017, Paul volunteered for deployment on the E-11A and again volunteered for a second tour in August 2019. Across both deployments, Paul flew 108 combat sorties, 1022.6 combat hours, with a total time of 1053.3 hours flying the E-11A. In his Air Force career, Paul flew 309 combat sorties, 2232.8 combat hours, 4736.9 total hours.

Lt Col Voss deployed multiple times in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, PHOENIX SCORPION I & II, ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM and OPERATION FREEDOM'S SENTINEL. Earning the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with seven oak leaf clusters, and the Aerial Achievement Medal.

Paul had a quiet faith, a man who followed his principles. He knew life without faith was without purpose. He loved his family beyond words; Paul and Shannon celebrated 24 years of marriage and have three daughters and a son-in-law: MeKensi Lopez (Ryan), Madison, and Morgan. A compassionate heart and a passion for life itself, Paul would take time to teach, show, instruct and pass any knowledge on to those who wanted to learn. He had a love of all music, and playlists to prove it. By far, his greatest joy was being at home with his family and friends, spending time doing life, and always striving to be better.

Paul was a beloved son, husband, father, brother, uncle, nephew, and friend to many. Paul was an inspiration to all who knew him and would always take time to help those who desired to be better. He started his career as a proud enlisted airman, never questioning that through dedication and hard work, he would achieve his dream of becoming a pilot, and he did so while remaining humble and helping others accomplish their goals along the way.

He was preceded in rest by his grandfather, Paul Henry Voss, and grandmother, Esther Wilhemina Wilkening Voss, grandfather, Harry Lewis Berlouis, and grandmother, Armande Celliska Durand Berlouis.

A private interment will be held at Arlington National Cemetery on August 19, 2020, to celebrate his life with family and friends; a reception to be held at Embassy Suites Crystal City. Masks and social distancing will be required.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Air Warrior Courage Foundation (AWCF)

and will support the family of Lt Col Paul Voss in any way needed. To donate go to the AWCF donations page at: http://www.airwarriorcourage.org/donations.html. Use the Give Direct button. Please check "I would like to dedicate my donation to someone special", Select "In Memory of" button and type Lt Col Paul K. Voss in the same block.

Arrangements are under the care of Peninsula Funeral Home, 11144 Warwick Blvd., Newport News, VA 23601.