451st AEW Members Give Flags Wings To Fly
(February 19, 2011) |
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| KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (2/18/2011 - AFNS) -- Whether
as a unique thank you, a patriotic souvenir or a solemn
reminder, more than 3,000 flags have been flown over the
skies of Afghanistan by the combined aircraft of the 451st
Air Expeditionary Wing over the past six months. |
Wing aircrew carry flags on routine missions over
Afghanistan. It's an additional duty that aircrew have
willingly accepted and anyone can submit any flag to be
flown.
"We've had Boy Scout flags flown along with
team flags," said Airman 1st Class Joshua Williams, a 451st
Operations Support Squadron knowledge operator and the flag
flying program manager.
Lt. Col. Joel Hampton, the
451st AEW Operational Support Flight commander, acknowledged
that part the popularity of the 451st AEW program is that
it's free, but members supply their own flags.
"We
feel it does a lot for morale, relatives, friends back home,
kids and grandparents," Colonel Hampton said. |
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Capt. Ryan Hayde prepares to fly a mission over Afghanistan accompanied by American flags
on Oct. 9, 2010. Flags from all countries, sports teams, and schools may be flown as part of the 451st AEW flag flying program. Captain Hayde is an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot assigned to the 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. U.S. Air Force photo
byTech. Sgt. Chad Chisholm
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Senior
Airman Dominico Jones, who coordinated the flag flying
program for the past six months prior to Airman Williams'
arrival, has also heard requests from schools, firefighters,
Marines and Canadians. Occasionally, he'll get special
requests, such as providing a flown flag to a World War II
veteran who's been given a month to live.
"Those,
I'll take and fly myself," said Colonel Hampton, an A-10
Thunderbolt II pilot, wanting to ensure the special requests
are handled with a personal touch.
For routine
requests, flags will wait to fly in the order they were
received, which takes about three weeks before being
returned, he said. If the flag is requested to fly on
multiple aircraft in the 451st AEW catalogue, it may take up
to three months.
A large number of flags are
requested by Soldiers, many on a second or third deployment,
the colonel said. Many, he described, credit the A-10, or
one of the other 451st AEW aircraft, with having saved their
lives. When the soldiers drop off their flags and paperwork,
they'll sit down and tell their story.
"They'll say,
'I want it flown on the A-10; that was the plane that saved
me last time,'" he said.
Airman Jones was struck by
the story of a group of Soldiers from a mounted division,
who had fallen under attack while on a patrol. The group was
almost out of ammunition and being fired on from several
sides when an Airman in their group called in an air strike.
Within 10 minutes, an A-10 screamed overhead and destroyed
the insurgents. Airman Jones claimed each of the Soldiers
requested flags from the A-10s.
"At times, it can be
demanding," Airman Jones said of the program. "But the look
of appreciation you get, why these flags are important, the
stories you hear, make it worth it."
Airman Williams,
who recently filled the position as Flag Flying Manager,
plans to take advantage of it while he's deployed here.
"I'm getting a flag flown for my uncle," he said.
Airman Williams also doesn't mind the responsibility, or
the boxes of flags -- which are stuffed into every inch of
shelf space in his office -- any one of which might be for
someone who was saved by one of his aircraft. |
By USAF TSgt. Emily F. Alley
9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force - Iraq Public Affairs
Copyright 2011 | |
Reprinted from
Air Force News
Service
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