FEATURE
NEWS
FEATURE
LIFESTYLES
Airlifter of the week: Member of 65th CES honored, Page 3
55th Annual Ramstein Bazaar, Page 6
Carpathian Fall 2019: A day in the life, Page 10
Herrstein holds its farmers, artisan market, Page 12
September 6, 2019 | Volume 43, Number 35
Read the KA online at KaiserslauternAmerican.com
Beginning the discussion: Ramstein takes tactical pause by Senior Airman Elizabeth Baker 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs The 86th Airlift Wing and mission partners participated in an Air Force-directed resiliency tactical pause on Ramstein Air Base, Aug. 30. Approximately 5,800 Airmen, U.S., and local national civilians assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing began the day by attending an all call with Brig. Gen. Mark August, 86th AW commander. Personnel then broke off to attend their own squadron-directed itineraries for the day, including discussion groups and outdoor activities. At the all call, August explained that the pause comes as a proactive measure against suicide, and he imparted a story of a difficult time in his life. “I don’t often share this story, but my brother was my best friend,” August said. “He was the best man at my wed-
ding and the godfather to my sons. I’ll never forget the day I got the phone call that he was killed in Iraq by an IED.” August talked about coping with loss and preparing for those times before they come. Resiliency, he said, is about
finding ways to connect to each other so that Airmen have a support system when hard times come. “This day is designed for all organizations across the Air Force to pause just for a few moments and understand
86 MXS, 86 AMXS launch ‘black letter’ aircraft
A C-130J Super Hercules aircraft sits on the flightline on Ramstein Air Base, Aug. 29. The 86th Maintenance Squadron and 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron labeled it as a ‘black letter aircraft,’ which meant that it came out of maintenance without any discrepancies.
some of the stressors in each one of our lives,” August said earlier in the week. He explained his perspective on the source of those stressors by summing up three generations in today’s Air Force. The first, he said, is the generation he joined: the post-Desert Storm and pre-9/11 world. Their focus was deterrence and their thoughts were on the high-end fight, and they were thrust into leadership roles once 9/11 happened. The second generation, August said, are the Airmen who joined after 9/11. Those Airmen were motivated by a surge of patriotism and the chance to serve their nation. That generation is serving in leadership today. The last generation August described are those who joined after 2012, when Iraq and Afghanistan were winding down. See PAUSE, Page 2
Story & photos by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Gonzales 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs After going through a long checklist, on Aug. 29, the 86th Maintenance Squadron and 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron pushed out an aircraft known as a ‘black letter’ aircraft. Initially, the C-130J Super Hercules came in with 10 discrepancies, but during 12 days of isochronal checks, the team ended up finding approximately 145 more issues. “The aircraft reached a remarkably rare zero defect condition that is commonly known as ‘black letter’,” said Staff Sgt. Brandon Norris, 86th AMXS dedicated crew chief. “This means that there are zero defects documented and See AIRCRAFT, Page 2