JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
Two 502nd Contracting Squadron Airmen made a three-hour
roundtrip excursion around the Texas Hill Country with their motorcycle club to
raise awareness about the Airman Heritage Museum.
Master Sgt.
Dustin Hoffmann and Tech. Sgt. Ruben Gonzalez rode with the San Antonio chapter
of the Fallen Saints Motorcycle Club Motorcycle Club June 13. The club formed
in 2012 and is comprised of active duty and retired military members.
The ride
started and finished at Javelina Harley Davidson in Boerne, Texas, with various
stops along the way.
Hoffman and
Gonzalez’ goal is for a new Airman Heritage Museum to be constructed, and both
noted the project is in the conceptual phase.
“Part of
Air Force Basic Military Training is the trainees get to tour the museum and be
guided through the history of the Air Force,” said Gonzalez, 502nd CONS
contracting officer of basic construction flight. “It is a good thing for us as
Airmen to keep that history going, and show all the troops coming through the
Air Force where we started and how far we have come along. It is also good for
the trainees’ families to have a better understanding of that tradition as
well.”
Hoffmann,
502nd CONS superintendent of the medical and civil engineering services flight,
believes the museum should be showcase because it is the military version of
pro sports hall of fames.
“Even
though we are the youngest military branch in the United States, Airmen have
done a lot of great things,” he said. “The Airman Heritage Museum is our
baseball or pro football hall of fame, and it should be showcased to people who
are interested.”
Learning
the Air Force’s history at the museum could validate the Airmen’s choice to
join “the blue,” Gonzalez said.
“I hope the
BMT graduates who are either on base liberty or have day passes can take their
families through the museum and say to them ‘look at what I am a part of now,’
he added. “(Seeing the history) makes your chest swell up a little bit because
you’re showing somebody where you started and where you could be someday.”