Gold Star families, veterans and service members gathered here for the Air Advisor Memorial Foundation's 14th Annual Remembrance Ceremony on May 26, 2026.
Through the posting of the colors, an invocation and 14 rings of a ceremonial bell, the gathering offered a shared space for reflection.
Among those in attendance were members of the Ausborn and Jacobs Gold Star families. The ceremony marked the first time Maj. Jeffrey “Oz” Ausborn’s grandchildren and Master Sgt. Tara Brown’s brother, Domenic Jacobs, were able to attend.
The Air Advisor Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization, hosts the annual tribute so those families know their loved ones' sacrifices will not be forgotten.
“Every year, it is with heavy but grateful hearts that we have the privilege of honoring those Air Advisors who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty — as the bell is rung 14 times today, we ask that you keep their names, their friends, their families, and their legacy in your hearts and minds," said Tech. Sgt. Sierra Schultz, 87th Force Support Squadron foundations noncommissioned officer in charge.
Col. Angela Polsinelli, 621st Air Mobility Advisory Group commander, delivered the keynote address and recognized retired Lt. Col. Sally Stanton, a surviving member of the NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan, who has returned to the ceremony every year and continues to support veterans and the families of her fallen colleagues.
Polsinelli noted the ceremony comes at a significant moment, as the future of air advising is being weighed amid the inactivation of its two dedicated advising squadrons — the 818th and the 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadrons.
"As we ponder what it means to be an air advisor, we need only look to those whose sacrifice enshrines the values that we strive to retain," Polsinelli said.
She described the 14 fallen Airmen as the bridge between American airpower and partner-nation capability — professionals whose work produced effects far larger than the footprint of their teams.
"These 14 Air Advisors were the crucial bridge between American airpower and the developing capabilities of our partner nations," Polsinelli said. "Their actions achieved outsized strategic impacts wherever they engaged."
"To be an advisor, one must possess the uncompromising technical and tactical expertise of a master in their craft," said Polsinelli. "But expertise alone is not enough. It takes the patience of a dedicated teacher, the cultural fluency of an ambassador and the unyielding vigilance of a warrior."
The ceremony honored the NATC-A Nine — killed in an April 27, 2011, insider attack in Kabul — alongside five additional advisors added to the memorial in the years since. As each name was read aloud, attendees paused in silence while the bell rang in their honor.
The 14 honorees are Lt. Col. Frank "Bruiser" Bryant Jr.; Lt. Col. James McLaughlin Jr.; Maj. Philip "Phil" D. Ambard; Maj. Jeffrey "Oz" O. Ausborn; Maj. David "Klepto" L. Brodeur; Maj. Raymond G. Estelle II; Maj. Charles A. Ransom; Capt. Nathan J. Nylander; Master Sgt. Tara R. Brown; Maj. Phyllis J. Pelky; Master Sgt. Gregory Kuhse; Capt. David "Leonidas" I. Lyon; Maj. William "Brian" Downs; and Maj. Mark "Mickey" T. Todd.
Suzanna Osborne, a U.S. Air Force retiree and widow of Maj. Jeffrey "Oz" Ausborn, shared a poem written in his memory — a poem written for the grandchildren who will only know him through the stories they are told.
"Though they never got to meet him, they will always know his name," Osborne recited. "Grandpa Jeff set the standard high, just like the way he flew each plane."
Osborne also thanked Stanton for keeping the families connected to the Air Force community in the years since.
"In a time when our world changed forever, you helped to remind us that we were not forgotten, and that Jeff's sacrifice and service and family still mattered," Osborne said.
The ceremony closed with the memorial coin tradition.
Gold Star families approached the memorial first; others followed. Each coin carries meaning: a penny marks a visit, a nickel means they trained together, a dime means they served together, and a quarter signifies being present when the service member died.
For the air advising community, the ceremony was both remembrance and recommitment.
Polsinelli said the Air Advisor Academy and future generations will carry forward the skills, trust and partnerships the mission demands.
"We will never forget the 14 advisors on the wall," Polsinelli said. "Through their memory, we will always remember what it means to be an Air Advisor."