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Civic leaders take flight

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mark R. W. Orders-Woempner
  • 434th ARW Public Affairs
GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. --  From Fort Wayne to Kokomo, civic leaders from all over the northern half of Indiana converged at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind., for one reason -- to fly with the 434th Air Refueling Wing.

These community and business leaders started their day early, typical for most, but that's where the similarities between their daily lives and their experience on July 20 ended.

After being checked in, the group found themselves surrounded with a flurry of information ranging from Grissom's $130 million contribution to the local economy to the frequency of operations and deployments of which the 434th ARW takes part.

After watching a brief safety video, the civic leaders journeyed to the passenger terminal where they were screened and accounted for one final time before they made their way to one of Grissom's 16 KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft.

After taking flight, the group witnessed the cohesion of the aircrew from the 74th Air Refueling Squadron and they took part in an aerial ballet, coordinating movements of two aircraft, their own KC-135 and an E-3 Sentry, traveling at over 350 mph. The E-3 Sentry was on a mission flying out of Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

As one of the civic leaders put it in a wrap up session held concluding the flight, "It amazes me how well the crew worked together, flawlessly like a well oiled machine."

During that same wrap-up session, honorary aircrew certificates were handed out by Lt. Col. Gary Lockard, 434th ARW public affairs chief, to each of the civic leaders commemorating their experience at Grissom with the 434th ARW.

Orientation flights are just one part of Grissom's community outreach program, aimed at educating the public about Grissom and the 434th ARW.

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command.

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Public Affairs Staff

Material contained on the Official Grissom Air Reserve Base Internet Web Site is written and produced by members of the 434th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Office. The award-winning staff includes:

Ben Mota
Chief, public affairs

Maj. Elias Zani
Public affairs officer

Master Sgt. Wendy Day
Staff writer

Tech. Sgt. Alexa Culbert
Staff writer

Senior Airman Elise Faurote
Staff writer

Senior Airman Benjamin Cowles
Staff writer