'I christen you ... "

SALINA, Kan. -- Salina, Kan., resident Donna Vanier, casts a handful of Kansas wheat on the gear door of a 442nd Fighter Wing A-10 Thunderbolt II as she christens it the "Thunderbolt of Salina" here Jan. 23. Col. James Mackey, 442nd Operations Group commander, (left) and Salina Mayor Alan Jilka, joined Vanier officiating for her third aircraft naming for Salina and the fourth aircraft to carry that city's name. Salina is a central Kansas community that was once the home of the former Schilling Air Force Base, now the city's airport. Salina continues to have a military presence with the nearby Smoky Hill Air National Guard Range and, in October, will host Hawgsmoke 2008, the Air Force's biennial A-10 Thunderbolt II bomb and gunnery competition. The 442nd Fighter Wing is an Air Force Reserve Command unit based at Whiteman AFB, Mo. (US Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Bill Huntington)

PHOTO BY:

VIRIN: 080123-F-8110H-004.JPG

FULL SIZE: 1.7 MB

Additional Details

No camera details available.

IMAGE IS PUBLIC DOMAIN

This photograph is considered public domain and has been cleared for release. If you would like to republish please give the photographer appropriate credit. Further, any commercial or non-commercial use of this photograph or any other DoD image must be made in compliance with guidance found at https://www.dimoc.mil/resources/limitations, which pertains to intellectual property restrictions (e.g., copyright and trademark, including the use of official emblems, insignia, names and slogans), warnings regarding use of images of identifiable personnel, appearance of endorsement, and related matters.

Go to Gallery