EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- The Profession of Arms encompasses America’s military; a unique profession, a higher calling with higher standards. Not many people choose careers that specialize in the defense of their country, or are able to build brotherly bonds that will last a lifetime.
On March 30-31, Tactical Air Control Party Airmen assigned to Detachment 1, 3rd Air Support Operations Squadron, stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, set out to honor their fallen brethren with a 24-hour run.
“The run is a way for all of us, whether young or old, to honor our fallen service members,” said Master Sgt. Stewart Ferguson, Det. 1, 3rd ASOS superintendent. “It enables people to put mind over matter and pushes them beyond personal barriers.”
This tradition is held yearly, as TACP Airmen across the Department of Defense memorialize their fellow Airmen. They encouraged others who saw them running at the Baker Field House to join in for a mile if they could.
“This run not only helps honor the fallen, but has other goals to meet as well,” said Staff Sgt. Philip Henderson, Det. 1, 3rd ASOS joint terminal attack controller. “One of the most important outcomes of this run is helping family members of the fallen overcome circumstances that could come with this profession.”
As a detachment, the TACP Airmen don’t have manpower to support running all 24-hours together, but the Eielson community ensured they didn’t have to run it alone.
“Getting Eielson involved boosted our ability to have this event become bigger than what we could have done ourselves,” said Henderson. “Thanks to the large amount of support, they helped us run more than 900 miles in our 24-hour time frame.”