|
Last night I read a very interesting article on the Air Force web site. It entailed our sister unit, the 74th Wing of PopeAFB, and how they’re being recognized by the DoD and the Secretary of Defense, for their “outstanding” maintenance personal and ratings during Operation Anaconda. And I was chatting with a friend of mine, a crew chief down in the south country, and he then informed me that they are also up for a citation for this war as well. And this got me to thinking.
Why in the hell, do we never get noticed outside of our unit. You open up the Citizen Airmen ( a reservist publication ) and maybe, just maybe, you’ll see a blurb or two about the A-10’s from WhitemanAFB. That’s if they bother to even mention the 442nd Fighter Wing at all. You look at the Air Force publicity pictures of this War that we are in, and you’ll find PopeAFB’s tiger marking covering just about everything that has to do with A-10s. Go ahead and try to spot an arrow head!
Then, after a short night of ranting to my collogues about this, I went on my way. Getting my cup of coffee, giving my counterpart his turn over, I received a ride back to the Orderly Room. And our beloved Captain and I were talking about that particular subject. He kind of just shrugged and said, “That’s active duty for yah!” However he did mention that he’d like to see “some sort of distinctive nose art” for our beloved hawgs. Something that wouldn’t follow the other guys but showed us off a little bit. Then it clicked. We do have something distinctive. Our tail feathers. The Arrow Head! It says it all!
When the ancients used to fight battles, they never praised the arrow that killed the enemy, it was the military that received the honors. They never broke down the pieces and parts, and complimented each and every set. No. The battle was won, by the unit as a whole. We are that arrow head, the Air Force, the arrow. We are the very thing that penetrates our enemies and the first and last thing they see before their demise. We are their fear.
But we are humble. We are the one unit, so good at our jobs, that we can afford to be. We don’t need tusks or tigers teeth. We no longer allow the term Reservist or Guardsmen to mean an “augment” to active duty, but their compliment. Every unit that has A-10’s, know without skipping a beat, who the best are. Ask them and they’ll tell you. They’re the best!. But ask them who they want to go into battle with, and you’ll hear our phones ring. And we always answer.
We’ve done it all. Bagram, Turkey, Kuwait, Tallil, and even Kirkuk. All in a short amount of time. We’ve been the pivotal team that allowed success to occur in each operation, and in each campaign. Maintaining a 100% FMC rating, which is unheard of in an AOR. The first unit ever, in the Air Force to accomplish this. We aided and provided support for the capture or kill of key former Iraqi and Taliban leaders. We see troops from the 101st and 173rd wearing our arrow head, placing it on their trucks, and equipment, like a trophy of pride and thanks. You hear of Marines talking of how this “Big Ass A-10 with a yellow arrow head” came out of no where and scared the living hell out of the enemy. Making them run and hide. You see teams of security forces and services lined up to be, even just a part of our mission. Apart of our goals. Asking for a coin or even just a picture that shows our arrow head, so they can prove they knew us. And never will you hear us ask to be recognized. They all know it. As we do to. No award could be better than the look in their eyes. The stories they tell. That’s what we do, that’s who we are.
We come from an area proud of our heritage, and proud of our land. We are a people who speak with our actions, not just our words. We stand firm in all our beliefs, and open our hearts to all who need it. We’re from the open plains, the rolling hills, and the land of beautiful lakes and rivers. And after a long hard day , we can stand tall in the sunset, never saying a word, and everyone knows, we are the best. And we’ll walk quietly back into the shadows, and back to our families, with pride in our hearts, and relief in our breath. Knowing that when ever and where ever, we are needed, we’ll answer the call again.
But know this to be true. When ever all hell breaks loose again! Forever look for the Arrow Head above. For we are the KC Hawgs.
MeSo Honey
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
