JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
A group of 15 civic leaders, opinion leaders and Reserve employers went on an educational tour at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to see what goes into making a "Citizen Airman" March 24 and 25.
Civic leader/employer tours are organized in order to spread mission awareness, foster liaisons between civilian and military leadership and to educate on the importance of the roles the community and families play in the lives of Airmen.
This particular civic leader tour was hosted by both the 316th Wing and 459th Air Refueling Wing due to common location and interests at Joint Base Andrews and the desire to show the total picture of what goes into making an Airman. All enlisted Airmen, be that Airmen bound for Active Duty or Reserve service, come into duty through the "Air Force Gateway;" the schoolhouse located at Lackland AFB.
Civic leaders - civilians considered influential within their communities and capable of telling the Air Force story to a wider audience - were chosen by wing leadership and invited to attend this two-day tour and get a glimpse into Air Force life.
Colonel William T. Cahoon, 459 ARW commander, escorted the group on a 459 ARW KC-135 Stratotanker to the San Antonio area for a civic leader tour. The aircraft flown was one of eight KC-135s owned by the 459 ARW located at Joint Base Andrews, which flies daily training and real-world refueling missions.
En route to Lackland AFB the 459 ARW crew refueled an E-8C JSTARS (Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System), an airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform.
"An aerial refueling is something most people will never see in their lifetime. While you may catch a small glimpse of refueling on the news or the Military Channel, we were able to see this firsthand from the boom pod. It's something I'll never forget," said David Kaplan, founder and president of the Kaplan Public Service Foundation.
During the refueling, group members were invited to come into the boom pod and ask questions of the boom operator regarding the process. Members were also able to "fly" the boom both before and after the refueling. In addition to cycling through the boom pod, some guests were able to sit in the cockpit during take-off and landing.
The group was met on the ground by Brig. Gen. John C. Fobian, 433rd Airlift Wing commander, "The Alamo Wing," Air Force Reserve Command. The tour kicked off with a mission briefing by General Fobian and a tour of a C-5 Galaxy.
While touring the C-5 static display, group members marveled at the enormity of the aircraft. Although the truth of this statement has not been confirmed, one pilot shared a common rumor that if the cargo bay of a C-5 was to be completely filled with ping-pong balls, the aircraft would be too heavy to fly.
The C-5 Galaxy is one of the many types of aircraft that the KC-135R Stratotanker can refuel.
That evening civic leaders dined near the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio with Colonel Cahoon, members of the San Antonio visitor's bureau and Col. William H. Mott, V, 37th Training Wing commander.
Colonel Mott offered a preview of the following days' activities. Lackland AFB is home to the 341st Training Squadron, which operates a breeding program for military working dogs in support of the Department of Defense Military Working Dog program. This program breeds and trains military working dogs for use in patrol, drug and explosive detection, and specialized mission functions for the DoD and other government agencies.
On the second day of the tour, members were greeted by a MWD puppy that is currently living with a sponsor family. The puppies are placed in foster families during their first few months in order to ensure they are properly socialized with people.
Tour members also had the opportunity to have lunch with basic military trainees in their seventh week of training and to attend a coin ceremony. The coin ceremony is attended by family and friends. In this ceremony the trainees stand as a graduating class before commander and family, recite the "Airman's Creed" and are given an Air Force coin to commemorate their passage from trainee to Airman. The mission of BMT is "to transform civilians into Warrior Airmen for the world's greatest Air Force."
"My favorite part of the tour was getting to spend time with the new Air Force trainees and their trainers. Their enthusiasm and passion to serve was inspiring," said Amanda Denney, Air Force Aircraft & Weapon Systems, Government Relations Manager for Boeing.
At the end of the tour, civic leaders expressed a gratitude for being able to learn more about the military.
"It is always a great opportunity to see our nation's Air Force and Air Force Reserve doing what they do best," said Mr. Kaplan. "Reservists, the majority of the 459th, do not get nearly enough credit for the services they provide to both their civilian employers and the U.S. military. One day you might find yourself sitting at your desk in a civilian workplace, the next, patrolling the skies of Iraq or Afghanistan. It gave me a new appreciation for the term 'Citizen Airman.'"
"What I took away from this experience is that the future of our Air Force is in very good hands, and I feel safer as an American knowing they have our back," said Ms. Denney.
At the end of the tour when the KC-135 touched down on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews and tour members readied to return to their civilian lives, Colonel Cahoon had these parting words:
"It was truly an honor to host you all on this tour and to be able to share with you my love of the Air Force and the Air Force Reserve. I hope that you will take what you've seen and learned over the past couple of days and share this with your friends and co-workers so that more people might know what a fine job our Airmen are doing. Please know that we couldn't do any of this without the support of our friends, families and employers. Thank you."