Barksdale civic leaders visit Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Mary Hinson
  • 307th Bomb Wing Public Affairs Office
Barksdale AFB, La. --  Approximately 30 civic leaders from the Shreveport-Bossier City community joined the 307th Bomb Wing and the 917th Fighter Group for the 2012 Civic Leader Tour to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash., May 23-24. The purpose of the tour was to give Barksdale civic leaders a chance to learn what the Air Force Reserve is about and cultivate a relationship between the reservists and the community.

"We at Barksdale AFB have some of the best civic leaders there are, and I was honored to be able to give them a chance to gain a better understanding what we as Air Force reservists do," said Col. Jon Ellis, 307 BW commander. "This was a chance to highlight not only what the Airmen here do, but the commitment, dedication and hard work of all Air Force reservists."

The civic leaders were hosted by the 446th Airlift Wing, a Reserve unit at Lewis-McChord, who treated the group to an aeromedical evacuation off-load, explosive ordnance disposal demonstration and C-17 Globemaster loading demonstrations, as well as a C-17 orientation flight. During the C-17 flight, the crew performed an airdrop with a training pallet.

Additionally, the Army-led Urban Warfare Center gave the civic leaders an opportunity to utilize some of the modern-day training equipment the military uses to train its forces, including the virtual battle station and the M-16 firing simulators.

"It was such a unique experience for the group because they were able to fly on two Air Force aircraft during the tour," said Colonel Ellis. The group was transported on a KC-135 Stratotanker to and from McChord.