High-flying employers enjoy appreciation day

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Leo Brown
  • 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  What started out as Employer Appreciation Day 2007 quickly turned into Citizen-Airman Appreciation Day.

The 442nd Fighter Wing opened its doors to 61 civilian employers Nov. 3 and the day ended with the civilian guests smiling and shaking their heads in amazement and gratitude for the work their Airmen do.

The employers were treated to a wing mission briefing by wing commander Col. Steve Arthur and air-to-air refueling flights on KC-135s from the Air Force Reserve's 507th Air Refueling Wing from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. The tankers refueled four 442nd A-10 Thunderbolt IIs.

The guests were also treated to a luncheon at the Mission's End club and then toured A-10 and B-2 static displays before visiting their employees' base shops.

After watching some of the air-to-air refueling, Terry Martin, of XPEDX in Columbia, exclaimed excitedly, "That's awesome. That is unreal."

Mr. Martin came to see Senior Master Sgt. Chuck Thomas, vehicle operations superintendent with the 442nd Logistics Readiness Squadron. He also noted, "This all just gives me a greater respect for what reservists do on a daily basis. One thing I've noticed about Chuck is that the discipline he has here carries over into his (civilian) workplace. Chuck is regimented and focused, and we have a certain window in which we have to get our products on trucks. Since Chuck has operated our warehouse, we're never late.

"It's extremely important that civilian employers support every one of these guys every day," Mister Martin said. "If employers do that, they can keep doing what they do every day."

Tanya Tims, with the United State Department of Agriculture in Kansas City, was here to see Master Sgt. Jennifer Schmitz, a munitions system mechanic with the 442nd Maintenance Squadron.

"Oh my gosh, this is exhilarating," Ms. Tims said during her flight. "It's stupendous. I've never experienced anything like this. The precision is amazing. I feel humbled and honored to be able to do this.

"I've always been behind the military and always patriotic, but the military's always been kind of nebulous," she said. "But to have the mission explained and experienced, it makes me more supportive."

At the luncheon, Col. Steve Arthur, 442nd Fighter Wing commander, had high praise for wing members and their employers.

"I'm the luckiest wing commander in the Air Force and you got to see these people in action today," the colonel said to employers at the luncheon. "If I owned a business and one of my employees came in and said, 'I've been activated,' I'd be anxious. I don't know how you do it, but you get it done somehow. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you."