85th Flying Training Squadron participates in first “Wings for Warriors” event > Air Education and Training Command > Article Display

LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas —  

The eighty fifth Flying Coaching Squadron (FTS) “Tigers”, participated in Laughlin’s first ever “Wings for Warriors” outreach program with the Texas Kids’s Hospital (TCH) on the Texas Medical Middle in Houston Texas, Nov 15, 2024.  

U.S. Air Power Capts. Charles Blum and Tyler Konek, eighty fifth FTS, teacher pilots (IPs), led a gaggle of 4 T-6 Nation IPs to unfold happiness and vacation cheer with sufferers, households and school at TCH.   

“We wished to spark the beginning of the vacation season by means of honoring younger warriors, who’re preventing by means of a number of the most troublesome realities conceivable, together with most cancers and incurable diseases.” mentioned Blum.  

The pilots met and bonded with over 100 sufferers and their households, beginning with a big group session on the hospital’s leisure area “The Zone.” They visited with sufferers from world wide with quite a few medical hardships and traveled room-to-room to speak with sufferers of the TCH Most cancers Middle.  

“It is heartwarming to know that the vacation cheer reached the kids and employees on the Texas Kids’s Hospital,” mentioned Lt. Col. Imran Khan, eighty fifth FTS Commander. “Giving again to the neighborhood in such significant methods is a testomony to the caring spirit of our Teacher Pilots and Crew XL.”. 

The IPs constructed T6 Lego replicas, painted toy plane, and crammed out Air Power plane coloring books with the sufferers, offering encouragement and a chance to pay attention and be taught from affected person’s tales.  

“The go to impacted the sufferers in a particularly optimistic means,” mentioned Konek. “The kid life program coordinators at TCH truly commented and emphasised how excited the youngsters have been to see us, and the way a lot the door-to-door visits boosted their morale, particularly those that had just lately obtained remedy.”   

All through the go to, sufferers have been made “Honorary Tigers” and even obtained flight go well with nametapes and squadron morale gear. 

“The sufferers completely appreciated getting their very own “Honorary Tiger” patches, they usually have been enthusiastic about turning into part of the 85 FTS Tiger Household,” mentioned Blum. 

The eighty fifth FTS exemplified the Air Power’s Core Worth of “Service Earlier than Self” in offering a chance to carry pleasure to sufferers and households whose lives have been considerably impacted by hardships. The “Wings for Warriors” occasion created a chance for private development and improvement in a setting outdoors of the coaching squadron by means of volunteer alternatives and optimistic interactions with the neighborhood to encourage perseverance within the subsequent era. 

“Studying in regards to the objectives and goals of every of the sufferers by means of one-on-one interactions was extremely impactful,” mentioned Blum. “Listening to their tales and sharing tangible experiences with them helped showcase the braveness and perseverance of every affected person. We allow them to know we’re preventing together with them. I’ll always remember this expertise, and I’ll take these recollections all through the remainder of my life.”