Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Update 06-10-2009

From Joe Wiley :


I am winding up my tour at McChord AFB, WA, as the Operations Group Commander, and heading for my next assignment in Rome, Italy. I will be a Faculty Adviser at the NATO Defense College...rough three year deal.



Part of the mission at McChord is to support Operation Deep Freeze. We send a C-17 down to Christchurch, NZ to move equipment, supplies and personnel for the National Science Foundation. We took the attached photo last February at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. We land the C-17 on the Pegasus Ice Runway during the Antarctic summer. On this mission we also carried some Air Force senior leadership down for an orientation. It ended up being a miniature Falcon gathering.



From left to right, Colonel Paul Shepard (83), Major Matt Anderson (96), Lt General Frank Klotz (73), General Duncan McNabb (74), General Howie Chandler (74), Colonel Joe Wiley (84) and Lt Colonel Lane Seaholm (86).



From Nena Amaral:


Here's a picture of Maj. Juan Amaral (USAF-R, Retired) administering the oath of office at USAFA at the end of May, 2009 (a couple of weeks ago) to one of our local high school alumni (2nd Lt. Christopher Vicari) from Southern California. Another one of Juan's classmates and fellow ALO's was also there (Marcel Smith - USAFA 84) at another squadron's swearing in ceremony to do the same for another cadet!


It was such an honor for Juan to be asked to do this by one of our local students who graduated 4 years ago from Ayala HS in Chino Hills. Juan washis ALO. It was Juan's roommate, Brian Stilson's father, Lt. Col. CharlesW. ("Red") Stilson, USAF-Ret. (& decorated WWII pilot) who administered Juan's oath that evening. Who would have thought Juan would be asked to return the favor for another cadet 25 years later? As Juan and I look back to his swearing in as a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. AirForce (his mother and I pinned on his 2nd Lt. bars then), it was all about the graduates and their graduation celebration from 4 long years of continued character enrichment, academics, military academics, and physicalc hallenges at the U.S. Air Force Academy. This time for Juan and I, it was also about those who shared in the administration of the oath of office. We saw an active duty Army father swear in his son and I admit that my tears fell hard from my eyes when I witnessed this same son receive his first salute from his enlisted father. We saw a great grandfather (who served inWWII) administer the oath to his great grandson. We saw an active duty AirForce Colonel swear in his son and at this cadet's side were his 2 brothers in their dress blue USAFA cadet uniforms. What a night for blessings and being blessed by family and friends, as well as the legacy of those who have served our country or continue to serve in our armed forces today. Wish you could have been there. It really was an amazing evening. Love in Christ, Nena Amaral