CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Wyoming Air National Guard Flag Heritage Team members provide military honors for military and civic organizations for a variety of events.
What is one of the first things that come to mind when you think about America? For most of us the answer is simple-our flag, “Old Glory”, “The Stars and Stripes” or “The Star-Spangled Banner”. Now, who in the Wyoming Air National Guard has the privilege and honor of working with “Old Glory” almost every day? The answer, your WyANG Flag Heritage Team.
The team is always looking for new members and is right now actively recruiting, but do you have what it takes to be a part of this elite group? Do you love drill and ceremony? Are you an enlisted member of the Wyoming ANG or 30th Airlift Squadron? Do you hold a 5-level in your current AFSC? If you answered yes to all of these questions you’re almost there, all you need now is the approval of your supervisor and commander.
The WyANG Flag Heritage Team came into being after former director of the Air National Guard, Maj. Gen. I.G. Brown, challenged the graduates of the ANG Non-Commissioned Officers Academy, at McGhee Tyson ANG Base, Tenn. In 1970, Brown challenged his academy graduates to “oppose the antagonism of the country” brought about by the war in Vietnam. The general referred to this challenge as “Operation Patriotism.” Wyoming’s NCO academy graduates took this challenge to heart and in that same year formed the team which still operates today.
Currently, the WyANG Flag Heritage Team has 11 active members, well short of the 30-40 members they would like to have.
Active members of the team are: Staff Sgt. Sarah Austin, Tech. Sgt. Heather Schaffer, Master Sgt. Nathaniel Cook, Master Sgt. Lila Howell, Master Sgt. Jon Perkins, Master Sgt. Mike Przymus, Master Sgt. Trudy Woodcock, Senior Master Sgt. Exie Brown, Senior Master Sgt. Michele Henning, Senior Master Sgt. Carl Hocking and Chief Master Sgt. Wayne Welsh.
Team members provide military honors for military and civic organizations for a variety of events. These ceremonies range from commander’s calls to formal military funerals, and can occur anywhere in our tri-state area which includes Colorado, Nebraska and, of course, Wyoming. Since its inception in 1970, the team has participated in thousands of such events.
Over the next year, several members of our Flag Heritage Team will be retiring, making the need for new members even more critical. As guardsmen and service members, we will experience few things during our career which hold higher admiration than the privilege of honoring our flag. If you would like to be a part of Wyoming ANG history and help honor this country in a very unique way, please contact Senior Master Sgt. Michele Henning at 307-772-6160 or email her at Michele.Henning@ang.af.mil.