Photo By Lt. Col. Justin Brockhoff | A Chilean boy throws the airplane he made with Tech. Sgt. Moises Guzman, a U.S. airman...... read more read more
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SANTIAGO, Chile - U.S. airmen hosted children from the Make-A-Wish and Teletón Foundations and visited a children’s hospital while on a temporary duty assignment to participate in subject matter expert exchanges and the FIDAE Air Show in Santiago, Chile, March 25 to 30.
The airmen, primarily from the Texas Air National Guard and 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern), are participating in the exchanges with Chilean air force partners to build partnerships and promote interoperability. While here, they are also participating in FIDAE by hosting static displays of the C-130 Hercules and F-16 Fighting Falcon.
Wednesday, nearly 40 children from the Make-A-Wish and Teletón Foundations visited the FIDAE Air Show and had the opportunity to get an up-close look at the military static displays before the public days of the show over the weekend.
The children were all smiles as they talked with airmen from both the U.S. and Chilean air forces, and walked through and around the aircraft. They also received a tour of one of the FIDAE Trade Show pavilions, where exhibitors gave children small gifts and invited them to look at the items on display.
During the visit, the children were also able to climb a ladder to get a look inside the cockpit of a U.S. F-16 fighter jet. Chief Master Sgt. Caesar Acosta and his team noticed two children, a boy and a girl, were confined to wheel chairs. Instead of letting the chance pass, the chief picked the boy up and carried him up stairs to see inside the F-16 while the other maintenance team spotted them for safety. After the boy had the chance to see, the chief repeated the process by carrying the girl up the stairs as well.
“That made the trip worth it,” said Chief Acosta, an F-16 maintenance expert for the Texas Air National Guard. “It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you are, opportunities like this bring it all back to reality that it’s the little things that matter. Seeing these children smile and get the chance to do what other kids are doing was great.”
Later in the week, airmen visited the children’s hospital where they met with more than 20 kids receiving long-term care and spent time coloring, building small airplanes and playing.
“You could see through the smiles that this lit up the day for the children,” said Maj. Camille LaDrew, a logistics officer for the Texas Air National Guard. “There were also parents there, who were so appreciative to see their children happy. It was fantastic to get to take a break from work and be a part of this event.”
Following the hospital visit, airmen returned to preparing for more subject matter expert exchanges and the public days of the FIDAE Air Show scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
The exchanges, conducted regularly throughout the year, involve U.S. airmen sharing best practices and procedures to build partnerships and promote interoperability with partner-nations throughout South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
These include discussions and demonstrations on C-130 maintenance and operations, F-16 maintenance and operations, human medical factors in aviation, parachuting procedures, military civil engineering, and providing medical support in a deployed area.
For detailed information about FIDAE to include directions, hours, and other information, please visit the airshow website at http://www.fidae.cl/en/web/show-aereo.
For more information on the U.S. aircraft on static display, please visit http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets.aspx.
| Date Taken: | 03.28.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 03.28.2014 15:44 |
| Story ID: | 123082 |
| Location: | SANTIAGO, AI, CL |
| Hometown: | SAN ANTONIO, TX, US |
| Hometown: | TUCSON, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 118 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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