LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Joint Base San Antonio Airmen honored transportation service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan by marching 14 miles with 40-pound ruck sacks on National Defense Transportation Day.
Twenty-nine JBSA service members participated in the May 20 march, culminating with a retreat ceremony at Camp Bullis in remembrance of fallen transporters as part of National Transportation Week. The inaugural march recognized the role of transportation personnel and the military functions supported by their mission.
Four different JBSA units were represented in the march. Those units included the 802nd Logistics Readiness Squadron and 342nd Training Squadron from Lackland, the 902nd LRS from Randolph Air Force Base, and the Camp Bullis LRS. There were 14 transporters among the 28 active-duty and one civilian who participated in the march.
"The most important thing was to increase awareness about fallen transporters and to make sure they're never forgotten," said Staff Sgt. Oscar Gonzalez, who assisted Tech. Sgt. David Morales in organizing the event.
The march began at Phil Hardberger Park in northwest San Antonio and continued along Northwest Military Highway before ending at Camp Anderson/Peters on Camp Bullis. Camp Anderson/Peters is home to the basic convey course, where Airmen learn combat convoy tactics prior to deploying for convoy missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I think transportation gets lost in some of the missions we do overseas," Sergeant Morales said. "We needed to do something to honor these fallen transporters. We've never done anything other than a memorial at Camp Bullis."
The participants marched/walked in 55-minute intervals, breaking for five minutes between segments. It took the participants approximately five hours to complete the march as support vehicles and medical personnel followed the participants along the route.
"The faces at the end, you could tell they had made a small sacrifice that day but it was for a good cause," Sergeant Gonzalez said. "It was a huge success considering the miles we marched."
Sergeant Morales said plans are to hold the ruck march annually in conjunction with National Transportation Week.
"We hope this is the start (of an annual event)," he said. "We want to make it better each year."