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Combat
Control Memorial March AF Special Tactics Relay Teams Honor Their Fallen Airman Walk, Jog, Run 860 Miles to Florida |
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| Click Here to visit the homepage for the Marchers and complete information about their mission. | ||
"To be allowed to take part in this is a real honor to all these guys," said A1C Matt Cronin of Baltimore, Md. "We all jumped at the chance."
They were led by CMSGT Bruce Wayne Dixon and MSGT Kenneth Huhman who personally knew of two of the fallen, their names etched in the commemorative batons they clasped in their hands.
| Click below to watch video, compliments of the Brown's | "Chappy was on my team when he
was killed," said Dixon of John A.
Chapman. Of William Jefferson, Huhman said, "We spent our first four
years in the Air Force together, pretty close friends." The trainees who joined them are aiming for AF special tactics, an elite group that include Combat Controllers, certified air traffic controllers who are there with special operations military teams if they get in trouble. "We provide air support to get us out," Huhman said. He organized the Walk for the Fallen that began last year with an 812-mile march across the U.S. Other than citizens who urge them on along the way, Huhman said the most emotional moments are when the families of the fallen and the severely wounded join them in the final five miles. He said "the appreciation you get from the families" is beyond words. |
| Fifteen local airmen will begin marching to Florida today, inviting others to join them in a tribute to lost comrades. |
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Master Sgt. Kenneth Huhman, march organizer, said the 860-mile walk will be done “Forrest Gump style,” as depicted in the 1994 Tom Hanks film, as it starts in San Antonio on the way to Houston; New Orleans; Mobile, Ala.; Pensacola, Fla.; and finally Hurlburt Field, east of Pensacola. Last year's inaugural Special Tactics Memorial March took nine days. This one is expected to last 12 days, ending Oct. 21. “This year, we're slowing the pace for a little more community involvement,” Huhman said. “People can walk with us for a mile or two. They can honor someone they've lost personally.” The airmen, special tactics operators in camouflage pants and gray T-shirts, will march in two- and three-person teams in five states. They'll average 15 to 20 miles per leg, each carrying a 50-pound rucksack and a baton bearing a fallen airman's name. Surviving family members will join all 15 airmen for the final five-mile leg. The group will march in memory of 14 special tactics airmen, including two killed in recent weeks. Senior Airmen Daniel Sanchez of El Paso and Mark Forester of Tuscaloosa, Ala., died in separate incidents in Afghanistan. The march also will promote the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which gives assistance and scholarships to children of special operations troops from all military services who died in service. |
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Jefferson and Davis both died in Afghanistan. Like the others being honored, they were in special operations, which includes ground-to-air Combat Control and pararescue.
Although the first few days will be difficult, Huhman said, the blisters and soreness likely will fade for the marchers. When they reach the final leg, they'll be filled with joy, pride and a torrent of other feelings as they're joined by surviving family members, he said.
“It's impossible to describe what it's like to see the emotions of the spouses, parents and children as we march with them and present them with the batons,” Huhman said.
The march is to start at noon at the Combat Control Selection Course at Lackland AFB's Medina Base Annex and leave the main base at the Growdon Road gate about 1:30 p.m. It will reach downtown about 4 p.m. An advance team plans a 3 p.m. meet-and-greet at the Alamo.
| 10/2/2009 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas
(AFNS) -- Before
dawn breaks Oct. 6, 12 Airmen will begin a memorial ruck sack march in
honor of 12 fallen special tactics teammates killed in Iraq and
Afghanistan. An estimated 824 miles later, on Oct. 16, the Airmen will
arrive at Hurlburt Field, Fla. |
Six two-man teams will relay through five states, 24 hours a day, averaging 15-20 miles per leg. Each team will walk approximately 150 miles during the 11-day trek, carrying with them a 50-pound ruck sack and a commemorative baton engraved with a fallen Airman's name.
"We may be walking for the 12 we've lost, but my hopes and desires are that the nation can come together and put aside all differences," said Master Sgt. Kenneth Huhman, one of three Lackland representatives on the march.
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Together, the 12 Airmen will
leave the Lackland Training Annex at 5 a.m. and march through the base
before exiting Kelly Field and breaking out into two-man relay teams.
Five of the teams will rest while the sixth continues the march, taking
turns for the next 800-plus miles. The 12 Airmen will reunite in
Florida, completing the final five miles as a team. Surviving family members of the 12 fallen Airmen will gather at the Hurlburt Field gate to join the team on their final mile to the Special Tactics Memorial, the dedicated site for an Oct. 17 ceremony honoring Staff Sgt. Tim Davis, a Combat Controller killed in February in Afghanistan. "I feel very honored," said Sally Sheldon, Sergeant Davis' mother. "They've been so good to me and I'm very proud of all these young men. They've made me a part of their family; someone is always calling to check on me." Mrs. Sheldon, who lives in Washington state, plans to fly into Hurlburt Field Oct. 15 with her daughter and son, Noel and Ben. The three will walk the last mile of the march. Sergeant Huhman said there is special significance to starting the march at Lackland and ending it in Florida. Special tactics training begins here and Combat Controllers complete their training at Hurlburt before joining their team, he said. Pictured; Left is Sam Schindler and Right is Ken Huhman. |
"This walk shows that with Air Force Special Operations, you are never forgotten," Sergeant Huhman said.
Representing Lackland on the journey are Lt. Col. Patrick Barnett, 342nd Training Squadron commander; 1st Lt. Sam Schindler, 342nd TRS flight commander; and Sergeant Huhman, who was awarded two Bronze Stars in June for his actions as a Combat Controller in Afghanistan.
The other nine special tactics participants are from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and Hurlburt Field. Two medical technicians from Lackland's 59th Medical Group have also volunteered to accompany the team in a support vehicle.
"There has been much more involvement and interest than I expected, and the level of support has been incredible," Lieutenant Schindler said. "I am amazed at all the support we have seen across the local and military communities."
Lieutenant Schindler said he thought the march would be a great event as well as a challenge for all the participants.
To prepare for their journey, the majority of participants have been wearing a 65-pound weight vest under their uniform for several weeks. In addition to the daily vest, Sergeant Huhman has been running four to six miles three times a week wearing a 45-pound vest, and taking walks of 10 to 20 miles two to three times on weekends.
"Most of the guys are in shape, but walking 20 miles every day for 11 days straight, plus doubling up some days, will take its toll," Sergeant Huhman said.
For more information, or to follow the memorial march as it happens, visit http://sites.google.com/site/stmemorialmarch/.
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Go to walkforthefallen.com for more information. |
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10/9/2010 - LACKLAND
AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Fifteen
special tactics Airmen carrying 50-pound rucksacks departed from here
Oct. 9 on a mission to honor the memories of their fallen comrades.
The 860-mile trek, known as the Tim Davis Special Tactics Memorial
March, will stretch across five states and will consist of six teams
walking 24 hours a day, in a relay format.
"We're conducting a walk honoring the guys that we've lost overseas,"
said Master Sgt. Kenneth Huhman, the chief of the Combat Control
selection course at Lackland Air Force Base and the coordinator for the
march. "We did it last year in honor of (Staff Sgt.) Tim Davis, (a
fallen special tactics Airman), and we named it the Tim Davis Special
Tactics Memorial March. This year will be our second year doing it. Our
goal is to obviously honor the ones we've lost, to build awareness of
Combat Control and pararescue, and to let everyone know that the Air
Force has ground troops that actually go into harm's way."
While having the same destination and
purpose as last year's event, this year's walk will incorporate several
changes, Sergeant Huhman said.
"We've slowed the pace down a little bit from last year," he said.
"One, so that we're not going so fast, and two, this time we kind of
want to make it like a 'Forrest Gump' style. And what I mean by that is
anybody who wants to come out and help us honor our 14 (Airmen) that
we've lost is more than welcome to. Or, (they are welcome) to come out
and honor somebody else that they've lost. The only thing is they'll
have to support their own transportation from the beginning to ...
where they end up walking. But, we'd love to have them out there."
The 14 Airmen being remembered are special tactics Airmen who have died
in Afghanistan and Iraq since the beginning of operations Enduring
Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The two most recent special tactics Airmen
to lose their lives in the line of duty are Senior Airman Mark
Forester, who died Sept. 29, and Senior Airman Daniel Sanchez, who died
Sept. 16.
"These past three weeks have been a hard three weeks for us," Sergeant
Huhman said. "We've actually lost two gentlemen overseas -- Combat
Controllers in Afghanistan -- in a week and a half to two-week period.
So, it's been a little bit of a challenge, but this year's walk is
going to be for them. It's still the Tim Davis Special Tactics Memorial
March, but we're carrying their batons, all the fallen from last year,
to include the two we've currently lost this year."
The batons carried by the marchers symbolize the memories of their
fallen brethren, and will be passed from team to team as the relay
progresses, and retired at the end of the march.
"Each baton has (a fallen special tactics Airman's) name engraved on it
and when (he) passed," Sergeant Huhman said. "We thought of it kind of
like a relay. The way the walk is going to go is there (are) six teams,
and everybody walks the first five (miles), and then (they) relay the
whole way, so somebody is walking 24 hours a day -- rain, sleet or
snow, but hopefully not snow this time of year. Those batons
are what we pass from one team to the next until they get to the end."
Sergeant Huhman, who participated in last year's walk, described the
challenges of the 860-mile journey.
"The first three days, I was 'bluesing,'" he said. "Those three days
were the hardest days. We had a nineteen miler and then an eighteen
miler, and then a seventeen miler. But crazily, the entire team started
to get stronger as we did more. I think it was just your body adapting
to its environment, and the first three days, most guys were bluesing,
the blisters were really bad, and people (were) just getting used to
walking that distance every day, (after) getting a couple hours rest."
Even so, the end of the walk was very rewarding, Sergeant Huhman said.
"I can't even put into words how incredible the end was, the reception
that we received there with the family members, the media, (Air Force
Special Operations Command officials) turning out, and pretty much
closing the base down to receive us. It was more than words could say."
Staff Sgt. Robert Parra, a Combat Control selection course instructor
who is participating in this year's walk, said he is ready to take on
the challenge.
"I'm excited to go on the walk for the fallen comrades," Sergeant Parra
said. "I tried to go last year because I do have some close, personal
friends who have been killed in the past couple years and I wanted to
give something back to honor them."
He said he is well aware of the obstacles he and the other marchers
will face along the way, but even so, he expects it to be a memorable
and meaningful experience.
"Aside from the 'wanting a chair' portion, or wanting to stop for the
rest of the day, I think it'll give us a lot of time when we're walking
in teams (to spend) with other Combat Controllers and pararescuemen,"
Sergeant Parra said. "It'll give us that chance to bring up stories
from the guys that we lost, and be able to remember, and be able to
laugh, and reflect on things that have happened. It'll be a good
(opportunity for camaraderie) for us. We'll be able to talk about
things that we didn't know about each other, things that we did know
about each other, and be able to recap that."
Airman Sanchez is one of the close, personal friends Sergeant Parra
seeks to honor.
"I was very, very close to Airman Sanchez," Sergeant Parra said. "Not
only did we hang out personally, but we were down at the same team,
down at the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, and I was also one of his
instructors at the squadron level. So we worked together, we played
together. He was a very good student, a very good friend. I could
definitely count on him."
While he mourns the loss of his comrade, Sergeant Parra said he is
deeply saddened for the Airman's family.
"Of course, I feel horrible," Sergeant Parra said. "I mean, (he's) a
guy I'll never get to talk to again. I'll never get to experience (with
him) the things that we'll be looking forward to in our lives. I won't
be involved in that part of his life anymore, and he won't be involved
in mine. However, I can only feel sadness for the family, because
really it's their loss. I've lost a friend and a teammate, but they've
lost a son, a brother, a nephew."
Sergeant Huhman said reaching out to the families of the fallen Airmen
is an important part of the walk.
"I'm really big on showing the family members that their relatives will
never be forgotten, and we'll continue to honor them," he said. "We
like to bring (the family members) into it too, so that they know
they're still part of the family."
In addition to Sergeant
Davis, Airman
Forester and Airman
Sanchez, the marchers will honor Master Sgt. William
McDaniel, Staff Sgt. Juan Ridout, Tech.
Sgt. John Chapman, Senior Airman Jason Cunningham, Staff Sgt. Scott Sather,
Capt. Derek Argel,
Capt. Jeremy Fresques,
Staff Sgt. Casey Crate,
Senior Airman Adam
Servais, Tech. Sgt. Scott Duffman and Tech. Sgt. William
Jefferson.
The march is scheduled to conclude Oct. 21 at Hurlburt Field, Fla. and
the CCA Combat
Control Reunion
| Special tactics Airmen complete 800-mile march | |
| 10/16/2009 - HURLBURT
FIELD, Fla. (AFNS) -- After walking more
than 800 miles through five states, 12 special tactics Airmen
arrived here Oct. 16, officially completing a memorial march for their
fallen comrades. The marchers, made up of several Combat Controllers and pararescuemen and one combat weatherman, split up into six two-man teams and walked day and night to honor 12 special tactics Airmen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the march, five teams rested while one continued the march, averaging nearly 20 miles before being spelled. Each marcher carried a 50-pound ruck sack and a baton engraved with the name of a fallen special tactics Airman. The 12 Airmen reunited just outside the base and walked the final five miles as a team. "This walk shows that with Air Force special operations, you are never forgotten," said Master Sgt. Ken Huhman, one of the event's coordinators and a marcher from the 342nd Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. |
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"I feel very honored," said Sally Sheldon, mother of Staff Sgt. Tim Davis, a Combat Controller killed in Afghanistan in February. "They've been so good to me and I'm very proud of all these young men. They've made me a part of their family."
The memorial march's route, which began at Lackland AFB and ended here, was chosen for a reason. Special tactics training begins at Lackland AFB and Combat Controllers complete their training here before joining their first teams.
"It was a long walk," said Staff Sgt. Jesse Schrader, a marcher from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron here. "My feet are covered in blisters and are numb, but it's worth it. This is something we wanted to do to remember our friends and teammates that were killed."
The memorial march was also organized to help raise awareness for Air Force specialties such as Combat Control and pararescue and to increase awareness of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. The foundation provides assistance to families of fallen special operations servicemembers.
| Airmen finish 860-mile trek for fallen
comrades |
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Their feet hurt with each step. Their skin burned under the oppressive sun. Their clothes were drenched with sweat, and they were exhausted from each carrying a 50-pound rucksack across five states. Yet their spirits remained as high as when they first began their trek 13 days before.
| Hundreds of people gathered
outside the Special Tactics Training Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., Oct. 21,
to welcome the marchers. At first, it seemed like a regular homecoming: flags,
families and well-wishers thanking them for a job well done. Each of the marching Airmen carried one or more wooden batons decorated with a small plate. The plates bore the names of fallen Airmen. For them, there would be no homecoming. "For those who understand, no explanation is necessary," said Chief Master Sgt. Antonio Travis, Air Force Special Operations Training Center chief enlisted manager and one of the marchers in the Tim Davis Special Tactics Memorial March. "And for those who don't understand, no explanation will suffice. "I will try to explain for those who don't: Love. Family is love. Love for family is why the men volunteer to do this." Chief Travis carried a baton for Senior Airman Adam Servais, 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, who was killed Aug. 19, 2006 in Afghanistan. His baton, like 19 others carried, represented the Airmen killed in action who couldn't be there, including Staff Sgt. Tim Davis, 23rd STS, who was killed Feb. 20, 2009. The march, an idea set forth by two special tactics Airmen, Capt. Sam Schindler and Master Sgt. Kenneth Huhman, was named in honor of Sergeant Davis after he was killed in Afghanistan. The batons for Combat Controllers symbolized the passage through the special tactics training pipeline after Basic Military Training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, until the day they earned their scarlet berets at Hurlburt. "I didn't have the honor of knowing two of the names called out, but I knew each and every other one," Chief Travis said. "Some of them were dear friends, my leaders and my Airmen. There's not a single fiber of my being that could imagine not stepping up and saying 'Yes' for my family." He then completed his speech with a variation of the Airmen's Creed, beginning with "These are America's finest Airmen" dedicated to those the march memorialized. "They never left an Airman behind, they did not falter, and they never failed, and, God willing, we will never fail in remembering them," Chief Travis said. The first march, held in October, 2009, went on to involve 10 Airmen to honor the legacy of 12 of their fallen brethren. But as poignant as the event became, the following year sadly produced more tragic episodes, not only for their special tactics family, but their fellow Air Commando and pararescueman jumper warriors. |
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"Let us not forget that, to date, we've lost 749 special operators who have given their lives in the defense of this country," said Maj. Travis Woodworth, STTS commander. "We honor our fallen, because we truly are a family."
The recent passing of Senior Airmen Daniel Sanchez, 23rd STS, and Mark Forester, 21st STS, who were both killed in action in support of Operation Enduring Freedom Sept. 16 and 29, respectively, left a fresh reminder in the minds of the marchers of how their own lives could be on the line in combat.
"If you look over the course of our nation's history, there has been a very small segment of our population that has been asked to do the types of things we are doing today," said Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command. "One percent of the U.S. serves in the armed forces. Of that group, an incredibly small fraction performs the duty of close combat and engaging the enemy. And a large portion of that force [in the Air Force] is in AFSOC, particularly in special tactics. And look around: kids are going to school, people are going to work and our nation is secure, thanks to the people who do this."
Kristy Jefferson is the widow of Tech. Sgt. Will Jefferson, a 21st Special Tactics Squadron Combat Controller who was killed March 22, 2008. She marched for the last five miles of the route with Sergeant Huhman, chief of the Combat Control selection course at Lackland, who carried her husband's baton.
"It just fills my heart up," Mrs. Jefferson said. "This is just one more thing to make sure they're never forgotten."
After completing the 860-mile march from Lackland to Hurlburt Field, they said they would have selflessly repeated it countless times over so that none of their comrades' memories will ever be forgotten.
"No word can really sum up the feeling..." Sergeant Huhman said. "But seeing the family members--this is what it's all about. It makes the rest of the walk seem like nothing."
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The following names are those of the Airmen memorialized in
this year's march. Special Tactics Airmen: Master Sgt. William McDaniel Staff Sgt. Juan Ridout Tech. Sgt. John Chapman Senior Airman Jason Cunningham Staff Sgt. Scott Sather Capt. Derek Argel Capt. Jeremy Fresques Staff Sgt. Casey Crate Senior Airman Adam Servais Tech. Sgt. Scott Duffman Tech. Sgt. Will Jefferson Staff Sgt. Tim Davis Senior Airman Daniel Sanchez Senior Airman Mark Forester 6th Special Operations Squadron: Maj. Brian Downs 8th Special Operations Squadron: Maj. Randall Voas Senior Master Sgt. James Lackey Air Combat Command pararescue: 1st Lt. Joel Gentz Tech. Sgt. Michael Flores Senior Airman Benjamin White |
