TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. —
An all-Black crew of 18 Travis AFB Airmen participated in a heritage flight to Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and Warner Robins, Georgia from Feb. 18-24 in recognition of Black Heritage Month.
The Division of Protection not solely celebrates Black Historical past Month as time to acknowledge the constructive affect Black service members have in U.S. historical past, but in addition serves as a reminder of the continual struggle towards racial disparity all through the U.S. Air Drive.
“Illustration issues,” mentioned Capt. Tyler Weaver, twenty second Airlift Squadron pilot.
After surveys, interviews and reexamining previous experiences, the Air Drive Inspector Basic made its conclusions. It “confirmed racial disparity exists for Black/African American Airmen and area skilled within the areas of army self-discipline and profession growth alternatives,” in keeping with the preliminary report launched in 2020.
“This flight was straight combating what that report introduced out,” mentioned Weaver. “We need to present people who they’ll fly, that they are often in these profession fields they usually can thrive in them as effectively.”
The crew demonstrated simply that in their first cease on the “Accelerating the Legacy” heritage occasion which honored the Tuskegee Airmen throughout a two-day occasion highlighting skilled growth and group outreach at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina.
Native Center and Excessive Faculty college students toured varied plane together with a C-5 Tremendous Galaxy from Travis AFB and had the chance to fulfill Dr. Eugene J. Richardson Jr., a Documented Unique Tuskegee Airman.
“We stand on the shoulders of giants and to have truly met a kind of guys is completely inspiring,” mentioned Weaver.
Weaver described as a toddler how he seemed as much as Tuskegee Airmen in a number of blockbuster hits, and assembly one in individual, he felt star-struck.
The crew then flew to Warner Robins, Georgia, the place they spoke to college students at Northside Excessive Faculty in Warner Robins, Georgia, Feb. 23, 2022.
“Are you able to see your self as a pilot, flight engineer or loadmaster?” Weaver requested the category full of highschool college students and Junior ROTC cadets.
Weaver expressed the rationale why they had been there—to point out them that they belong and might accomplish this stuff.
“Like I mentioned earlier, illustration issues and we need to present that the [minority students] are represented in these profession fields within the Air Drive and notably within the flying group as effectively,” mentioned Weaver.
Inside solely two % of Airmen being pilots, solely two % of these pilots are Black in keeping with Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. Air Drive of Workers.
Weaver believes this type of mission can encourage and produce individuals collectively and tradition contained in the Air Drive bringing out the nice in all of us.
“I would like us to proceed pushing this narrative, this legacy that we are attempting to make with these heritage flights,” mentioned Weaver. “Each single 12 months we all know February is Black Historical past Month however we need to make this a norm in order that anyone that’s no matter ethnicity, no matter nationality, no matter gender or creed know that they belong right here within the Air Drive.”
This mission gave Weaver and the remainder of the crew members a singular expertise and an important sense of pleasure.
Should you’re focused on becoming a member of the Air Drive go to www.airforce.com and speak to your native recruiter for extra data.