Photo By Staff Sgt. Hayden Johnson | A view of the Red Tail's over Montgomery Air Show Sept. 8, 2018, held at Dannelly...... read more read more
For the past several years, the 187th Fighter Wing has aimed to provide a future for the wing and it’s Airmen. In gaining the F-35A Lightning II, the wing has now secured its operation for the next fifty years. This would not have been possible without the support of the community’s leaders and members.
Adding to that, wing leadership has continually made an effort to inspire the future members of the 187th Fighter Wing and continue the traditions, heritage and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and 100th Fighter Squadron.
Dannelly Field’s 2018 Red Tail’s Over Montgomery Air Show provided an opportunity to thank the community’s leaders and members for supporting the F-35, inspire future aviators, and honor the wing’s legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen.
“We wanted to open our doors to the public to show our appreciation for all the support that we received from the community,” said Lt. Col. Paul Griggs, 187th Force Support Squadron commander and air show director. “We could not have done that without the support of the city of Montgomery, as well as around thirty-five sponsors and a team of 700 people that helped support the airshow, which was pretty monumental.”
Maj. Rich “Sheriff” Peace, 100th FS F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot instructor, agreed.
“Just have to say thank you to the River Region community for supporting us in the fight for the F-35 and having our congressional leaders behind us and pushing for us to help secure the F-35 for our future,” Peace said.
Looking towards the future, a new aircraft provides further opportunities for future members. The air show offered aerial demonstrations, static displays on the ground, and opportunities for guests to hear about different careers in the Air National Guard.
“We want to inspire all the young people out here to consider careers in aviation,” Peace said. “Flying is a very important job, but the maintainers, the avionics specialist, all the people behind the scenes and all the support personnel…it takes a whole family of people to make the air show work and to make the Air Force work.”
The 187th FW family works together to accomplish the mission of the wing and with a history of teamwork and perseverance, members hold to the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen.
“The air show continues our legacy,” said Col. William Sparrow, 187th FW commander. “What the Tuskegee Airman started, we are just as proud to continue on, and it is very rewarding. I think the whole community is overjoyed that over the next several decades, that legacy will continue to survive.
“It’s a legacy that we take very seriously. The patch that we wear on our right shoulder is the same patch that the 100th Fighter Squadron in Tuskegee wore also, and we wear that with great honor,” Sparrow said.
| Date Taken: | 09.14.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2018 09:04 |
| Story ID: | 292813 |
| Location: | DANNELLY FIELD, AL, US |
| Hometown: | MONTGOMERY, AL, US |
| Web Views: | 92 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 2018 Red Tail's Over Montgomery Air Show: appreciation, inspiration, preservation, by SSgt Hayden Johnson and TSgt Monique Randall, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT