Wounded warriors tour Randolph

  • Published
  • By Sean Bowlin
  • 12th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  A training accident that caused the loss of his left leg, multiple burns and resulted in 15 surgeries couldn't keep Marine Capt. Ryan Voltin out of a cockpit June 27 here.

Captain Voltin flew a T-6A Texan II simulator after hoisting himself into an actual T-6A on the flightline as Randolph Air Force Base officials hosted 13 wounded warfighters recovering from serious injuries in the nearby Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

"It's been a while since I've sat in the seat," said Captain Voltin, an AH-Cobra pilot after taking a computer-simulated flight around San Antonio and Randolph AFB. "It's a great confidence boost."

Called "Wings for Wounded Warriors," Lt. Col. Jimmy Donohue, the 559th Flying Training Squadron commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Stephen Page, the 12th Flying Training Wing command chief, came up with the program to encourage the wounded. 

Instructor and student pilots from the 559th FTS lined the main hallway and clapped and cheered as their fellow warriors entered the squadron building. After a briefing and welcome by wing and squadron leaders, the guests made their way to the flightline, where they took turns touring the cockpits of T-6As and having their pictures taken alongside the aircraft. Those photographs were displayed later that afternoon in frames with names of the warriors labeled on them on the "Warrior Wall" that was dedicated in the squadron headquarters hallway.

From the flightline encounter with real T-6As, it was on to the simulator building, where the warriors were split into three groups for computer-based "rides."

While waiting to take her flight, Army Sgt. Lelina Benning, from 3rd Corps at Fort Hood, Texas, said the visit to the base's simulators was an unexpected and special treat.

Sergeant Benning, wounded by rocket shrapnel in an arm and a foot in Iraq, said every Friday she and fellow wounded warriors usually leave the Center for the Intrepid on outings as part of their occupational therapy.

"But when I heard we were coming to the flight simulator, I said, 'Oh, yeah!'" said Sergeant Benning, who has spent nine months in the hospital.

That enthusiasm for the flight simulator was echoed by Airman 1st Class Kevin Krogh, an amputee from the 27th Aircraft Maintenance Unit at Langley AFB, Va. The native of Medford, Minn., who was injured in an auto accident in March said he had a great time in the flight simulator.

"Here we all are together, doing something fun," Airman Krogh said. "For me, this means the Air Force is keeping up with their brotherhood."

Another part of that brotherhood shown by 559th FTS officials included commemorative coins with a set of pilot's wings superimposed on an image of a Purple Heart and commemorative T-shirts for the wounded warriors.

"We can't give them back their arms and legs, but we can honor them for their service and their sacrifices," Colonel Donahue said.

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