'Katrina Girl' Found: Pararescueman finally locates girl he saved after Hurricane Katrina

HH-60 Pave Hawk
Photo // Staff Sgt. Jason Robertson

Destruction and heartbreak surrounded the pararescueman, along with the rest of New Orleans, during the first week of September 2005. No matter how many people Staff Sgt. Michael Maroney pulled from rooftops, trees and the flooded waters of the Crescent City, there was no escaping the sickening sights and sounds during those 14-hour days in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That was before he received an enthusiastic embrace from a little pigtailed girl he pulled from waist-level water into his HH-60G Pave Hawk about a week after the hurricane. When Maroney delivered the girl and her family to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, she leaped up and threw her arms around him. The embrace and the girl’s infectious smile were captured in a photo that later went viral. That moment with the unknown child, who later became known as “Katrina Girl,” changed everything in Maroney’s mind. In late August, after almost a decade of searching, Maroney learned the girl is 13-year-old LeShay Brown, who lives with her mother in Waveland, Mississippi, as first reported by PEOPLE Magazine on Sept. 2. He’s eagerly anticipating a reunion with her and her mother, Shawntrell Brown, in New Orleans in late September, a meeting he calls a “one in a trillion” shot. A friend of LeShay’s sent a copy of the viral photo of that hug, along with another picture in a clipping of a newspaper article published in Tennessee, where the family was sheltered after the rescue, to Maroney’s 13-year-old son, Christopher.

Senior Airmen Talon Leinbaugh, a 66th Rescue Squadron aerial gunner, conducts aerial surveillance in an HH-60G Pave Hawk over the Pacific Ocean during Angel Thunder 2015, June 11, 2015.
Photo // Senior Airman Betty R. Chevalier

“I’m a very optimistic person, but I’m also a realist,” Maroney said. “Things don’t always happen the way you want them to, so I try to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. It was like it was never going to happen. But when I saw the picture, I knew it was her. I’ve been speechless ever since.” Maroney is now a master sergeant assigned to the 308^th Rescue Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. However, he’s training future pararescuemen in San Antonio while he works on completing his medical retirement at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. When Katrina struck the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, Maroney was a pararescueman deployed with the 58^th Rescue Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. He had armed himself with Beanie Babies to comfort the children he knew he would encounter in the rescue effort. In a career Mahoney calls the “world devastation tour,” he counts the people he’s rescued at 304, but LeShay stands out above them all, partly because she was about the same age as one of his sons. Once the Pave Hawk delivered LeShay and her family to the airport, they joined many other residents who were displaced by the hurricane and were taken to various locations. Maroney never asked her name, but also never forgot her smile or the unbridled joy she showed in the midst of all of the turmoil and tragedy. Just a couple of months before Katrina, Mahoney returned from a deployment to Afghanistan, where he and his fellow pararescuemen picked up nothing but bodies for 22 days. By the time he’d found the girl’s family, he’d experienced similar emotions as he tried to find people he could save, especially on that particular day. Years later, the little girl stood out in his memory, not only because of the happy ending at the airport, but also because for once, someone Mahoney rescued was able to say express appreciation. Even though hearing those two words isn’t the reason Mahoney faces the dangerous work of a pararescueman, hearing them — especially from the mouth of a child – was particularly meaningful. “Most of the time I drop people off, they’re unconscious,” he said. “They’re blown up or shot, so they’re not really cognizant. She made up for all of the thank-you’s I never got.” Maroney carried LeShay from the ground to the Pave Hawk. As they ascended on the hoist, she pointed out her home and school from the air. Once in the helicopter, LeShay consoled her mother, who was apparently frightened of the helicopter ride, by rubbing her back and telling her, “It’s OK, mom. We’re safe now.” “When we landed at New Orleans International Airport, I picked her up to take her off the Pave Hawk, and she wraps me up in that big hug,” Maroney said. “All of the troubles and problems going on were just melted away.

58th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen perform a 50-foot hoist extraction from a HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron as part of a search and rescue mission during Operation Angel Thunder 2011 in Tucson, Ariz.
Photo // Staff Sgt. Andy M. Kin

“It could have been five or 10 seconds. But that hug has lasted 10 years now. It was the perfect moment, what I needed to recharge my batteries after seeing New Orleans destroyed and picking up all of those people after all of that destruction. That one gesture from her gave me enough energy to make it through the rest of my time. If I never did anything else the rest of my life, that hug made it worthwhile.” The family returned to New Orleans from the shelter in Tennessee, but moved to Mississippi a few months ago. Both mother and daughter seemed surprised the pararescueman who saved them spent so much of the past decade thinking about them. “I was excited that he was looking for me for such a long time,” LeShay told PEOPLE. “I’ve barely seen any of the pictures!” LeShay doesn’t remember the rescue, although she does recall much about life in the shelter after FEMA moved them to Tennessee. Her mother remembers it all, especially since it was her first helicopter ride, as well as her first trip out of New Orleans. About five years after Katrina, Maroney left active duty for the Reserve after deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. But that photo of the one memorable rescue in New Orleans remained on the wall in his home. Now that he’s finally found the girl who for about a decade was only known as “Katrina Girl” by much of the country, he’s grateful for many people who helped get the word that finally reached the family’s neighborhood in a small Mississippi town.

NEW ORLEANS — A young Hurricane Katrina survivor hugs her rescuer, Staff Sgt. Mike Maroney, after she was relocated to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, La., on Sept. 7. Sergeant Maroney is a pararescueman fromm the 58th Rescue Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
Photo // Airman 1st Class Veronica Pierce

“If I can thank everybody who helped look for her, give everybody a hug, say thank you to every single person who helped me, I would do it,” Maroney said. “It blows me away, the outpouring of love and kindness people have given, and shows that it’s not about color, it’s about people. If we can come together in a horrible moment like Katrina, I wonder why we can’t come together now. I hope this picture can show we’re all Americans and can find things that pull us together.” Maroney has had a decade to think about what he would say to her if he were to ever see her again. Finally, he will soon get that chance. When Maroney and his two sons make the eight-and-a-half drive from San Antonio to New Orleans, he plans to show LeShay and her mother some of the many articles and videos that have been produced about them. His main goal is to emphasize how important she has been in his life for the past decade. “(Shawntrell) and her daughter have left an indelible mark engraved on my heart,” he said. “It hurts me to know that people are suffering, but what’s beautiful is they’re fine, they’re happy living their lives and aren’t letting things get to them. There is such strength and resiliency in that family. If I can help them, I really want to help them because they really helped me.”

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Quality Breeding: DOD Program Strives to Establish Proven Bloodlines for Military Working Dogs

QUALITY BREEDING

DOD program strives to establish proven bloodlines for military working dogs

STORY BY RANDY ROUGHTON PHOTOS BY STAFF SGT. VERNON YOUNG JR.

20 January 2015

OOlaf leaps over Staff Sgt. Sharif DeLarge, a military working dog handler from the 802nd Security Forces Squadron, during a controlled aggression exercise at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. DeLarge and military working dog handlers assigned to JBSA-Lackland fulfill daily law enforcement requirements or train to remain mission-ready.

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[EDITOR’S NOTE: Names of dogs produced in the Department of Defense Military Working Dog Breeding Program begin with double capitalized letters.]
Saliva slides down OOlaf’s tongue, his eyes focused intently on Staff Sgt. Sharif DeLarge as the military working dog waits for the command. When DeLarge gives the word, the Belgian Malinois leaps several feet in the air, clenching his jaws around his prey – the wrap on his handler’s arm.
Had this been an actual suspect, OOlaf wouldn’t have released his grip until DeLarge gave the word. In this exercise, OOlaf demonstrated all three characteristics the Department of Defense Military Working Dog Breeding Program looks for in its dogs – predatory behavior, boldness in sociality and a willingness to work in any environment, whether dark, noisy or with any other distractions.
OOlaf, who was born in the breeding program’s fourth OO litter at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is the son of RRespect and a male stud dog named FFalcor. But OOLaf, who is affectionately called “Laffers” by his handlers, is more than just another highly motivated working dog. He, his parents ,, and RRespect’s sister UUkita, are also important links in a bloodline of high-quality dogs in DOD breeding.

OOlaf waits for instruction from Staff Sgt. Sharif DeLarge, a military working dog handler from the 802nd Security Forces Squadron, during a controlled aggression exercise at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. DeLarge and military working dog handlers assigned to JBSA-Lackland fulfill daily law enforcement requirements or train to remain mission-ready.

This link is partially responsible for the program’s shifting focus from obtaining breeding dogs overseas and other sources to producing more breeding dogs themselves, said Dr. Stewart Hilliard, the 341st Training Squadron’s chief of military working dog evaluation and breeding flight.
The MWD are like other Airmen or Soldiers in the fight. They even have their own equivalent of a dog tag –identification tattoos inside their left ears. But just like there are some service members more prone to heroics than others, there’s something that sets the breeding dog apart from its peers – the bloodline.
To describe the difference between a typical MWD and a dog set apart for breeding, Hilliard uses the analogy of the difference between a typical Army private first class and a special forces Soldier, who has the unique genetics, physical, temperamental and character features to do a job most cannot.
“There are two ranges in the quality of a dog,” he said. “There is the dog that is the fine animal that is useful for military working dog service. But there is a quality of dog above that, which is one big working order above the common military working dog. This is the dog whose drive is stronger, whose nerves are stronger and whose courage is higher.”

UUkita, a military working dog with the 802nd Security Forces Squadron, gave birth to eight puppies at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The puppies will be kept in a secure location to prevent sickness before training the dogs for military work. When the dogs are mature enough to train, they will filter through a selection process to determine which dogs are qualified for military work.

RRespect was the result of a breeding between a Belgian-bred Malinois male from France with a DOD-bred female in 2010, which resulted in the program’s best litter to date, Hilliard said. The mating was repeated with the U litter later that year. Because females RRespect and UUkita, from the second litter, were representative of the superior genetics of their older siblings, they were kept for breeding, as well as frozen semen from a couple of the males.
“What’s special about RRespect and UUkita is they come from a very strong family,” Hilliard said. “When you look at their brothers and sisters, many of them are high-quality dogs. That means I know the family. The family is very high in quality, and they are very good bets, about as good bets as a dog breeder is ever going to have, for the kind of dog that, when bred properly, will produce more high-quality dogs.”
RRespect and UUkita, who have already produced five litters between them, are just two of 22 breeding females in the program, along with two standing stud dogs: FFalcor and OOlaf. But the program also has access to many other male dogs, including some privately owned males in Holland and The Netherlands, and between 10 to 14 others through frozen semen. Some of these dogs are long dead, but one produced SSheila, which recently birthed her own litter. Areas overseas ravaged by disease and instability could disrupt the program’s MWD supply.

UUkita, a military working dog with the 802nd Security Forces Squadron, feeds her litter of puppies at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. UUkita, gave birth to eight Belgian-bred Malinois puppies. The puppies will be kept in a secure location to prevent sickness before training the dogs for military work. When the dogs are mature enough to train, they will filter through a selection process to determine which dogs are qualified for military work.

Circumstances overseas may eventually make raising quality dogs even more important. Areas that are politically unstable, plus those that have become ravaged by disease, can wreak havoc on the program’s supply of MWDs, Hilliard said.
“A situation where we get all of our supplies from overseas, particularly from parts of the world that could conceivably become unstable, could disrupt our supply of military working dogs,” Hilliard said. “Also, potentially, disease concerns could affect our supply of military working dogs. There are a number of factors that are beyond our control that could rather suddenly and catastrophically interrupt our supply of military working dogs.”
Almost two decades ago, DOD foresaw this problem on the horizon, which was the reason the breeding program was founded in 1998 — so the department would eventually have the capability to produce its own breeding dogs. Currently, the program is producing 15 percent of its MWD inventory, Hilliard said.
“But that means we know how to do it. We have the facilities, we have the techniques and we have the genetic material,” he said. “So if suddenly our supply of military working dogs overseas were interrupted, we would be in a position to ramp this program up to produce a larger proportion of military working dogs.”
While the breeding program’s focus has moved toward breeding more of its own dogs, the end result remains producing what’s known as dual-purpose dogs – those that are proficient in both substance detection and patrol, Hilliard said.
“We also try to supply for DOD first-class dogs, dogs of extremely high quality, because it’s hard to buy a first-class dog in the open market,” Hilliard said. “Everybody wants that dog, and DOD doesn’t pay the highest prices.
“So one of the points in having a breeding program is because if the litter is ours, and there is an absolutely stupendous dog in that litter, we get that dog because we bred them. So it’s a way for us to get top-quality dogs.”

Staff Sgt. Sharif DeLarge, a military working dog handler from the 802nd Security Forces Squadron, braces for impact during a controlled aggression exercise with JJany at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. Devine and military working dog handlers assigned to JBSA-Lackland fulfill daily law enforcement requirements or train to remain mission-ready.

MWD handlers see the effects of the breeding efforts in the FFalcor bloodline in their own dogs. At least, DeLarge sees the qualities of a supreme working dog in OOlaf.
“I can tell you that physically, he’s an agile, fast, strong and hard-hitting dog,” said DeLarge, an 802nd Security Forces Squadron MWD handler. “His detection capabilities are spot on, which is essentially the most important job he has as a military working dog. I have no doubt in my mind that he has one of the best noses in the kennel when it comes to detection.
“OOlaf’s desire to please me as his handler is especially exceptional when it comes to any task I give him. In a sense, he is the definition of an impeccable military working dog, and all of these attributes make him nothing less than perfect for the breeding program.”
The breeding program produces an average of 11 litters a year, but several litters since the program’s inception have proven to be more influential than the others, in terms of producing the bloodline that Hilliard has been searching for. Two litters born in 2001 and 2002, called the A1 and C1 litters, were the combination of a female named Boyca and a male named Rico.
“Boyca was the beginning of everything,” Hilliard said. “She produced dogs better than we had any right to expect. This was the beginning of our success.”
About seven years ago, a union between OOri and a Dutch shepherd named Kim produced a number of quality males, including FFalcor. Eventually, FFalcor replaced Arnold as a stud dog and sired the litter that produced OOlaf.

Staff Sgt. Mark Devine prepares to release JJany during a controlled aggression exercise at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. Devine is a , a military working dog handler assigned to the 802nd Security Forces Squadron. Military working dog handlers assigned to JBSA-Lackland fulfill daily law enforcement requirements or train to remain mission-ready.

The bloodline represented by dogs like RRespect, UUkita and OOlaf is expected to produce generations of dogs to come for the breeding program, Hilliard said.
“Hopefully, what will happen is in the next several years, I will develop a large pool of dogs that are sons and daughters of UUkita and RRespect and other females that are related to each other in varying degrees. In each case, what we have done is probe the results of taking our bloodline and mixing it with another bloodline of very high-quality dogs, looking for where we should go in the future to produce the best dogs for us.”
MWD breeding specialists believe that several decades of establishing its own bloodline   will lead to more success on producing the type of dogs that will serve the DOD the best in the future.

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- See more at: http://airman.dodlive.mil/2015/01/quality-breeding/#sthash.mjlk26WW.dpuf

Making Airmen: MTI pushes trainees through eight weeks of basic training

The blue, round-brimmed hat of the 6-foot-3 military training instructor towers over the unfortunate young trainee who attracted its wearer’s attention. The eyes of the future Airmen on the trainee’s left and right widen as they stand at attention, relieved they aren’t on the receiving end of this specific example of what the MTI calls “the shock and awe effect.”
“Don’t shake your head at the position of attention, trainee,” Tech. Sgt. Chananyah S. Stuart corrects in his distinct Virgin Islands’ accent. “You will pay attention to me, whether you want to or not. You will pay attention to everything I say and everything I’m going to do.”
Later, one of the witnesses of the flight’s first encounter with its MTI, Trainee Charles Stackhouse expressed feelings of apprehension about what Stuart would be like as an instructor.“My first impression of Tech. Sgt. Stuart was a little scary,” said Stackhouse, who would eventually become the flight’s element leader. “I wasn’t exactly intimidated, but it was different from anything I’d ever experienced, and I was definitely nervous.”
Tech. Sgt. Chananyah Stuart reminds a trainee of the procedures for entering the dining facility. Stuart, a 323rd Training Squadron military training instructor, is extra demanding on his trainees from the very beginning because he believes it sets them up for success.
Little do the members of the 323rd Training Squadron’s Flight 552 realize how their impressions of their MTI will change throughout the eight-and-a-half weeks of basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. By the mid-point of their training, Stackhouse, dorm chief Justin Parker, and others will not only adopt some of their MTI’s favorite sayings like “speed and intensity,” but also his marching cadence, complete with his accent on certain syllables. Flight 552 forms for the first time at about 1 a.m. outside the base’s new BMT Reception Center, located a conveniently short march across the drill pad to the squadron. Stuart is joined by five other MTIs to help “motivate” the flight as he marched them to their home for the next few months.“We will do everything quick, fast and in a hurry,” Stuart tells his new flight. The trainees will soon learn that everything their MTI tells them will include those same three ingredients. The trainees’ night of shock and awe continues as they are introduced to their dormitory. Stuart has a lot of information to give the trainees and only an hour and a half before 2:30 a.m., when they need to be in their bunks with lights out.“Face your wall lockers right now,” he tells them. “Yell out that number. Find the number on your bed right now. Find your security drawer right now.”Later, Stuart gives the 52 trainees one of the biggest lessons they will learn during “zero week,” when he shows them around their dorm. Tech. Sgt. Chananyah Stuart inspects his flight’s dorm after a surprise inspection produced several discrepancies. Flight 552 is in their final week of training, and Stuart, a military training instructor, uses the inspections to fight complacency amongst the trainees. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen)“This is no longer called a bathroom,” Stuart says. “It is the latrine. You are not at home anymore.”The Flight 552 trainees might have been surprised to learn their MTI has not always been comfortable with raising his voice. Stuart learned his MTI package was approved while en route to a deployment in Afghanistan in 2011. The generally soft-spoken civil engineer NCO trained his voice to become accustomed to yelling by the time he reported for MTI duty in June 2012. Stuart’s fellow MTIs have taken notice of the ease with which he transforms from an easygoing gentleman to get into a trainee’s face at the slightest drop in military bearing.“He will be smiling at you one minute, then his face turns to stone like a light switch,” said Staff Sgt. Dennis Weiss, as he watched Stuart counsel a trainee from the “Snake Pit,” the dreaded table where the instructors sit in the dining facility. “All you see is this instant change of face.”Military training instructor, Master Sgt. Julio Alarcon, asks a basic military trainee why he can’t deliver a proper military reporting statement. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen) Stuart is always wearing the stern face when he teaches drill, how to give a reporting statement, the wearing of the uniform, and making dust cover beds because he considers all four indicators of the flight’s progress, as well as for individual trainees.“The beds are the meat and potatoes of the dorm,” Stuart said. “If the beds look good, you know it will be an outstanding flight. If not, you can tell the flight doesn’t have that pride. So you have to be sure you give them that good info.”MTIs must also keep vital flight information accessible at all times. Like all MTIs at Lackland, Stuart must carry a flight notebook whenever he leads a flight. The notebook includes the weekly schedule, flight roster, appointment slips and the white armband roster, which identifies any trainees who are especially susceptible to the heat. Inside Stuart’s hat is a heat chart that tells him what he’s allowed to do with the trainees under conditions that put the squadron under red or black flag. His own water bottle is in one hand or nearby any time he’s outside under the late-summer San Antonio sun. Despite the heat, both from the Texas summer and from their instructor,the flightsurvived zero week, and moved on to the first full week of training, which consists of M-16 weapon identification, breakdown and assembly; maintaining the trainees’ personal living areas and Stuart’s favorite – marching and drill.“Let’s go! You are way too slow for my taste right now,” he yells at one trainee before pulling him out of formation for more intensive drill intervention. Military training instructor, Tech. Sgt. Chananyah Stuart, leads Flight 552 on the “Airman’s Run” in the basic military training reception center auditorium. Stuart keeps his flight in step by calling cadence with his fingers because the noise made by cheering parents and family members make it difficult for trainees to hear him. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen)“We see everything,” Stuart tells the trainee. “If we see something and don’t say anything, it’s probably just because we have given up on that trainee. But we see everything.”Toward the end of the first full week, there is a subtle change in how the instructor barks out orders. He begins to let them in on the reasoning behind the madness, as when he checks to make sure everyone’s buttons are fastened on their Airman battle uniform.“I want to see if you are paying attention to detail,” Stuart tells his flight. “Why? Because many of you will be working on aircraft. If you can’t put that one screw where it’s supposed to go, millions of dollars and some lives go down the drain. This is why we do everything we do, so you can pay attention to detail.” “Right now, they are starting to see the big picture,” Stuart said later. “Because everything we do right now, we relate to the big picture of the operational Air Force.”In the second week of training, as the flight begins classes to prepare for the Basic Expeditionary Airmen Skills Training, which occurs in week six, drill training makes major strides. Stuart teaches marching concepts, such as left and right step, columns left and right, formation of the flight, rest positions, how to count off, and other essential drill concepts. The trainees are also becoming proficient in making their beds the way he taught them, along with their dorm details.“Good to hook?” Stuart asks the flight after teaching them columns left and right, his way of checking for comprehension. Another time, he concludes a correction with, “It’s common sense,” spreading his arms wide to emphasize the point. During week three, trainees receive their name tags and tapes, dog tags and their common access cards, which are kept with their paperwork until they leave BMT. Stuart also teaches them about their military pay. Other than a few infractions, for the most part, Stuart is pleased with the flight’s progress. He can hear the confidence in how they are snapping off their reporting statements.“Every time you do something well that we tell you to do, you’re getting closer to becoming Airmen,” he tells them. Tech. Sgt. Chananyah Stuart, a military training instructor, stands in front of his flight before beginning physical training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The flight is in its eighth and final week of Air Force basic military training. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen) By week four, Stuart has the flight moving on to what he likes to call “cruise control.” He no longer has to tell them everything, because they have become self-sufficient in many ways. When a trainee does step out of line, the flight’s leaders often correct the problem without Stuart getting involved.“We use (cruise control) because it’s like having a vehicle training itself,” Stuart said. “It’s like being on auto-pilot and having an airplane go up into the sky, and as soon as it gets into the sky, it begins to fly itself.”The trainees test their endurance, strength and willpower on the obstacle course. They also learn team-building as they cheer each other on as they overcome each of the 20 obstacles. In week five, the trainees have their flight and individual photos taken, and Stuart stresses proper hydration and foot care. He begins pre-deployment preparation for the BEAST the following week, making sure every trainee has items needed from the BEAST Deployment Packing List. He leads the flight in a bag drag, a quick inspection of items needed to take to the BEAST. Once at the BEAST, when trainees get the opportunity to apply what they have learned in a deployed, war-time environment, the flight shows signs of what their MTI taught them through the first four weeks of training. The BEAST includes a weapons familiarization course; firing on the combat arms training and maintenance range; self-aid and buddy care scenarios; training to fight combatives with pugil sticks; and the Creating Leaders, Airmen and Warriors mission, which recently replaced the obstacle course. On the new course, the objectives are considered checkpoints rather than obstacles. The night before the culminating exercise at the end of BEAST week, Stackhouse and Parker enjoy the chance to focus on just being trainees without the burden of leadership duties.“We made a lot of mistakes in the first exercise, and it gradually got better,” Parker said. “All we could do was pinpoint those things we were still having trouble with and work on them.”At the end of week six, members of Flight 552 and several other flights in Sentinel, their living area zone, captures the BEAST Excellence Award by earning the fewest demerits in the culminating exercise. The award gives the flight 10 points toward becoming honor flight. A week later, Stuart learns the flight has won honor flight, making Flight 552 the top flight of all those graduating BMT that week. Honor flights traditionally receive an extra town pass during graduation week. Military training instructor, Tech. Sgt. Chananyah Stuart, inspects Flight 552′s guidon bearer, Airman Calvin Kim, before the graduation ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen)“Tech. Sgt. Stuart represents the very best aspects of our United States Air Force and the exceptional basic military training instructors assigned to the 37th Training Wing,” said. Col. Trent H. Edwards, the 37th TRW commander. “I am proud, not only of his individual leadership accomplishment, but the accomplishments of the members of Flight 552 for the team effort it took to be recognized as the honor flight.”In week seven, Stuart has his trainees complete their first Joint Hometown News Program release, and they take their written tests and complete their final evaluations in drill and physical fitness. In their final week, they see downtown San Antonio for the first time in two months, since they left the airport for the 30-minute bus ride to BMT. Once they receive their Airman’s coins at the Airman Coin and Retreat Ceremony, they can finally be called Airmen, and their big week concludes with their parade and graduation ceremony. Even though the flight took top honors, both at BEAST and in being named honor flight, Stuart’s impact was perhaps best illustrated in how the Flight 552 trainees adopted certain aspects of their instructor’s personality and teachings. Once, another MTI said he heard Stuart’s distinctive voice leading the flight in drill in the squadron atrium, or so he thought. The voice actually belonged to Parker, the flight’s dorm chief. As the trainees took on many of Stuart’s words, they also developed a deep respect, as their instructor knew they would from that first night’s march across the parade field.
“In the beginning, Tech. Sgt. Stuart was the only MTI I’d ever known, so I figured they were all like him,” Stackhouse said.. “Then, as the weeks progressed, I realized that he is actually, if not the best, one of the best MTIs out there, just from hearing other MTIs and flights talking about him and holding him in such high regard. It just makes me feel blessed to have been trained by him.”
- See more at: http://airman.dodlive.mil/2014/11/making-airmen/#sthash.5z4ajVVP.dpuf