WIESBADEN, Germany - Whether in the air or on the ground, the U.S. Air Force simply does it differently.
At least that's what members of the 7th Weather Squadron Headquarters demonstrated March 28 as they made the trek from Heidelberg to their new job site in Wiesbaden -- taking turns running the 56 miles to the entrance of Clay Kaserne.
"We moved these colors on foot from Heidelberg to Wiesbaden," said Lt. Col. Mark Coggins, 7th Weather Squadron commander, during a welcoming ceremony in a Clay Kaserne hangar March 29. "Fifty-six miles -- that is an impressive accomplishment."
The project kicked off with an Ultimate Frisbee game on the parade field at Heidelberg's Campbell Barracks March 27, followed by a retiring of the squadron colors that evening and placement of the guidon in a rucksack. The next day Headquarters element staff members set off on the relay run to Wiesbaden.
After the completion of the run, which took about 11 hours and wrapped up around 7 p.m., unit members returned to Clay Kaserne's Main Gate the following day to replace the colors on the guidon staff and march across the installation to Hangar 1035 where members of the U.S. European Command, U.S. Army Europe and U.S. Air Force Europe celebrated the unit's arrival.
Referring to the many streamers marking the accomplishments of the 7th Weather Squadron since World War II and up until the present day, Coggins said they represent the "quiet heroes" who are on duty around the world today. "The 7th Weather Squadron has been a steadfast supporter of the U.S. military in Europe."
During the welcoming ceremony, participants also bid farewell to the 7th Weather Squadron's Detachment 1 which inactivated with casing of the detachment's colors.
Maj. Troy Alexander, Detachment 1 commander, praised the accomplishments of the detachment -- pointing out that deployments have been a regular feature for individual unit members -- "a long time away from home … but you've done it with pride and dignity."
He also acknowledged that the weather squadron Airmen have continued to excel while supporting the new aviation elements that have arrived to serve on Wiesbaden's Clay Kaserne airfield.
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