Honored! Photo by Airman Basic David Tracy Col
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Vol. 40, No. 38 Friday, September 23, 2011 Honored! Photo by Airman Basic David Tracy Col. Lenny Richoux, 6th Air Mobility Wing commander, and Col. Dave Pavey, 927th Air Refueling Wing commander, lead the crowd in the Air Force Song during the Honorary Commander Induction Ceremony, Sept. 16, at MacDill Air Force Base. The Honorary Commander program allows Tam- pa Bay area civic leaders to be highly involved with the missions of the 6th AMW and the 927th ARW. More photos, page 14 COMMANDER’s CORNER run for Sept. 23, and local historian, Dr. Wal- Exciting times lace Reyes will be the guest speaker for the by Col. Lenny Richoux observance luncheon scheduled on Oct. 14 at 6th Air Mobility Wing commander 11:00 a.m., Surf’s Edge Club. We’ve had plenty of reasons to celebrate We are in the middle of exciting times here recently. The Air Force celebrated its 64th at MacDill AFB. birthday, Sept. 18, and I want to extend grati- The school year had a great start and I want tude to Lt. Col. Michael Carney, Maj. Alex to tell you about a program that supports our Fafinski, The Tony Jannus Chapter of local schools. The Impact Aid Program provides the Airlift/Tanker Association and the Air federal reimbursement for every military- Force Ball Committee for making last week’s connected student enrolled in our local schools. Air Force Birthday Ball a huge success. Over Please fill out the cards the schools are sending 600 of you attended the awesome celebration Photo by Airman Basic David Tracy of Air Force tradition at the Tampa Convention home this month so that the school districts Col. Lenny Richoux, 6th Air Mobility Wing com- get an accurate account of military students Center, Saturday. Thanks to all of our military and civilian attendees which included many mander, inducts Henry Gonzalez, president by Oct 10. Impact Aid is an important source of Firm Solutions, during the Honorary Com- of funding for our military students, and they of our local community leaders who also made mander Induction Ceremony Sept. 16. deserve it. up a cross-section of 6th Air Mobility Wing’s Last week, we kicked off the base recogni- recently inducted Honorary Commanders and mander of 18th Air Force, as Lt. Gen. Robert tion of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is Command Advisory Council. Allardice becomes the vice commander of Air Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, and I want to high- Thirty-nine community leaders and Tampa Mobility Command. We look forward to his light a few star performers on the committee Bay neighbors, who partner with the base to command and deeply appreciate the guidance responsible for base awareness for this cultur- sustain our relationship with this great com- we’ve received and will continue to receive ally significant observance. Master Sgt. Jesse munity were inducted in the ceremony last from General Allardice. Lopez and Staff Sgt. Pedro Morales have weekend. Mr. Terry Montrose, Staff Sgt. On to another congratulations for recently the committee responsible for planning and Angela Ruiz, Senior Airman Robert Wag- selected leaders—6th Mission Support Group carrying out various events. goner, Senior Airman Rachelle Coleman had two outstanding Airmen chosen to attend We had a Hispanic Heritage food-tasting and Airman 1st Class Michael Ellis were in- Officer Training School. Staff Sgt. Alexander event with a mariachi band Thursday at the strumental in making the ceremony a success. Shivers and Senior Airman Kyle Bradford chapel annex. Thanks to Staff Sgt. Peter There’s no doubt we’ll experience a fruitful re- were selected among many in a highly competi- Flores for organizing the gathering. lationship with our Honorary Commanders and tive program. Each year, we observe National Hispanic community leaders. The 91st Air Refueling Squadron’s 1st Lieu- Heritage Month by celebrating rich Hispanic Another leadership change I want to rec- tenant Joe Pierce distinguished himself by cultures, contribution and history. The com- ognize is the change in the 6th AMW higher doing outstanding work as a mission planner mittee has planned the Hispanic Heritage 5k headquarters leadership. Congratulations to See COMMANDERS, Page 3 Lt. Gen. (sel) Mark Ramsay the new com- COMMANDER’S ACTION LINE The Action Line provides a two-way communication between the 6th Air Mobility Wing commander and the MacDill community. A 24-hour recording service is provided so personnel may submit questions, concerns or com- ments. Call the Action Line at 828-INFO (4636) or e-mail macdillwingcom- [email protected] fense, the Department of the Air Force or the 6th Air Mobil- may be obtained by calling 259-7455. MacDill Thunderbolt ity Wing. News items for the MacDill Thunderbolt can be submit- Publisher: Denise Palmer The appearance of advertising in this publication, in- ted to the 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs office, Bldg. Editor: Nick Stubbs cluding inserts or supplements, does not constitute en- 25, MacDill AFB, FL 33621, or call the MacDill Thunderbolt dorsement by the Department of Defense, the Department staff at 828-2215. Email: [email protected]. of the Air Force, 6th Air Mobility Wing or Sunbelt Newspa- Deadline for article submissions is noon, Thursdays to The MacDill Thunderbolt is published by Sunbelt News- pers, Inc., of the products or service advertised. appear in the next week’s publication. Articles received af- papers, Inc., a private firm in no way connected with the Everything advertised in this publication shall be made ter deadline may be considered for future use. All submis- U.S. Air Force. This commercial enterprise newspaper is an available for purchase, use, or patronage without regard to sions are considered for publication based on news value authorized publication for distribution to members of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, and timeliness. U.S. military services on MacDill. Contents of the MacDill physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non-mer- Every article and photograph is edited for accuracy, clar- Thunderbolt are not necessarily the official views of, or it factor of the purchaser, user, or patron. ity, brevity, conformance with the “Associated Press Style- endorsed by the U.S. government, the Department of De- Display advertising or classified advertising information book and Libel Manual” and Air Force Instruction 35-101. NEWS/FEATURES Commentary Your T-bolt Today News/Features: page 4 Honoring the legacy of Lt. Helton by Col. James Hodges Scrub-a-dub 6th Mission Support Group Commander This past week I had the honor of leading News/Features: page 8 the 2011 “Helton Haul” 5-K run named for the late 1st Lt. Joseph Helton. I was privileged AirFest is coming to be flanked by his mother, Jiffy Helton. She was deeply moved by the tribute shown by News/Features: page 12 members of the 6th Air Mobility Wing and Team MacDill in honor of her son. For those unfamiliar with the story of Lieutenant Hel- 310th helps children ton, he was a member of the 6th Security Forces Squadron who gave the ultimate sac- News/Features: page 16 rifice in Iraq on Sept. 8, 2009. While on pa- trol near Baghdad, during the second of two consecutive deployments for which he volun- Prescription take back teered, Lieutenant Helton was hit by an ex- plosively formed penetrator, one of the deadli- Diamond Sharp: page 22 est types of improvised explosive devices. The story of Lieutenant Helton’s life exudes the essence of the Air Force Core Values. He Col. James Hodges This week’s standout signed up for the military by entering the United States Air Force Academy in 2003 at That’s where our magnificent team steps MacDill Community: page 25 a time when America was confronting inter- in. The 6th Security Forces Squadron named national threats in the post-9/11 era. After its building in his honor and annually under- graduation from the Academy and receiving takes the “Helton Haul” so others can know of Events, movies, more... a commission as a lieutenant, he actively the lieutenant’s example. Lieutenant Helton sought to serve his country to the best of his should be an exemplar for us all in carrying abilities. During his Security Forces technical out our home-station and deployed duties in COMMANDER’S training, he was selected as the “Top Cop” by From Page 2 a manner that raises the bar for our personal his peers. As a new member of the 6th Secu- and collective commitment to the Air Force for the 2011 RED FLAG Alaska exercise. rity Forces Squadron, he aggressively learned Pierce expertly planned more than ten air Core Values. It’s clear his embodiment of the the home station mission while volunteering refueling missions a day over the two week “Service Before Self” ethic is unquestionable. for any deployment downrange that came period he was there. His dedication and hard How else could we describe his example in work were essential to the success of the ex- along. He simply hungered to serve America volunteering for a second consecutive tour ercise as a whole. in the most impactful way possible. He soon downrange rather than see the mission suf- 6th Operations Support Squadron’s Tech. got his chance in 2008 when he deployed for fer without an assigned flight commander to Sgt. Christopher Parente, NCOIC of Com- eight months as a flight commander with the lead and train Iraqi security forces, especially bat Crew Communications, supported his of- mission of training and operating with Iraqi when he had such fresh experience? His re- fice by sustaining normal operations during a Security Forces during the famed “surge” that cord also shows a personal internalization of critical low-manning period.