RIVERTON - One might say Graham Stewart always was able to fly - first as a state record-holder in the 400-meter dash at Dubois High School and then for the U.S. Air Force, where he mans the controls of one of the world's hottest aircraft, the F-15e Strike Eagle.

The 1998 Dubois High School graduate took a circuitous route from the High Country of Fremont County to the even higher country in the rarefied air of the upper stratosphere. A standout football player and middle-distance runner, Stewart took a scholarship in both to the University of Sioux Falls, but the yo-yo regimen of gaining and losing weight between football and track took its toll on him.

"The 400 meters came around a lot better than the 800," Stewart said. "The extra 20 pounds from football made a difference."

His state-record time of 50.6 seconds in the 400 dropped to 48 seconds around the oval at Sioux Falls.

His studies at Sioux Falls lasted two years. Initially, he majored in journalism and communications.

"I wanted to write and do 'SportsCenter'-type things, but I changed my major to history," Stewart said.

"I left Dubois and went to Sioux Falls, and it was all about sports and journalism. I've always appreciated airplanes. My dad and I flew model planes when I was a kid," Stewart said. "On spring break the second year of college, I decided I wanted to be a pilot."

He transferred to Montana State University at Bozeman in 2000 but didn't have a major yet.

"I wanted to join ROTC, join the Air Force and fly," he said.

Flying in the Air Force is a career usually relegated to Air Force Academy graduates. To earn your wings via ROTC is a long shot. But Stewart's entire military career so far has been one successful long shot after another.

"They don't hold out a lot of pilot spots for ROTC," Stewart said. "In December 2003, I graduated with a history degree and as second lieutenant in the Air Force. I had one week off, then spent two months at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama at ASBC (Air and Space Basic Course). It was a two-month intro to being an officer. Then right into pilot training at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas."

Stewart's trip to flight school was paved during a four-week boot camp at Lackland AFB in San Antonio earlier that year. The four-week course emphasized leadership, and the top 10 percent of the 660 cadets were honored as distinguished graduates.

Stewart finished first in the flight.

"That helps you get a pilot spot," he said. Stewart then underwent arguably one of the most physically challenging tests in the military - riding the centrifuge at Holloman AFB in New Mexico.

"Man, what a torture chamber," he said. "I had one day training, some academics, then it was off to the centrifuge. You start at four Gs for 45 seconds, six Gs for 30 seconds and end with 8.5 Gs for 15 seconds. It hurts to breathe, and you get tunnel vision."

Flight school had 36 pilots who began training on the T-6 Texan. Of those, six were selected for the T-38 Talon. Stewart flew the supersonic Talon for four months.

"It's based on how well you do," he said. "I finished first in the class, so I had my choice. I picked the two-seated version of the F-15 Strike Eagle."

Stewart trained with NATO pilots from Germany, Italy, France and Great Britain at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas, while flying the T-38 B. He took introduction to fight fundamentals and learned to dogfight at Seymour Johnson AFT in Goldsboro, N.C.

"I first flew the F-15 in the basic course. I trained for nine months getting ready for air-to-air and air-to-ground operations," he said.

Stewart left in August 2006 for his first operational assignment with the 391st Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home, Idaho.

While stationed at Mountain Home, Stewart had the chance to drop live, 2,000-pound bombs on a range west of the Great Salt Lake and dogfight with the smaller single-seat F-16 and the tank-busting A-10 with the Idaho Air National Guard.

The training was intense, Stewart said, but one mission stands out above the rest. Stewart was given the assignment to plan a simulated strike against targets along the Rocky Mountains.

Stewart picked his hometown of Dubois for the simulated run and specifically picked the home of his parents, Mark and Kit Stewart, as the primary target.

Stewart indicated to hometown family and friends he might have a training run above Dubois, and the word quickly spread through the local valley. When the time for the raid finally came, most of Dubois residents were lined up on Main Street waiting for the bombing run.

The entire operation took just seven seconds for Stewart's F-15 to fly horizon to horizon. He hit his parent's home with a laser image, made one quick turn and disappeared.

"It happened quick, but it was neat," Stewart said.

Stewart's Strike Eagle weighs 81,000 pounds fully loaded and is rated to Mach 2.5.

The 391st left for Afghanistan earlier this year, and Stewart remained behind with his wife, Amber, and waited for the arrival of his son, Tristan James Stewart.

"I sat that one out while the baby was due," he said. "It was frustrating not being able to go, but Tristan is amazing. I can't wait to start throwing him the football."

Stewart's commitment is for 10 years after pilot training, but he plans to make it a 20-year career.

"Competition is a natural progression," he said. "I think the two years at Sioux Falls helped me beyond belief at ROTC. It all stems from coming out of Dubois in sports. It is a direct link for sure.

"From everybody that starts pilot training, about 5 percent make it. The 5 percent who make it all have a competitive athletic background. Sports teach you to be competitive," he said.

"You have to be dedicated to academics as well," Stewart said. "They test you on how well you are in shape. The more in shape you are, the more Gs you can pull.

"At college you are as good as anyone else, but you have to work hard if you want to play."

Stewart will redeploy in 15 months.

"We could be anywhere at the drop of a hat," he said. "We have a 12-hour flight limit.

"I thank my parents the whole way. They've supported me all the way. I appreciate all the support from Fremont County."

The cost of Stewart's training is enormous.

"It costs the Air Force about $5 million per pilot in training. There are 250 to 300 F-15e pilots nationwide," Stewart said.

As far as his future is concerned, Stewart said: "I still love journalism and coaching. I'd like to get back to that after I retire."