By Gene Valdes, FASF First Past President & Trustee
Dear Trustees and FASF Members,
This afternoon I hand-delivered a check in the amount of $7,500 to Southwest Escrow. This represents the final payment on the FASF’s Airfield, land purchased from Mrs.Patricia Walsh.
I also want to report a very pleasant conversation I had yesterday evening with Mrs. Walsh. She is very complementary of all the achievements the FASF has made thus far (she receives our Aerodrome newsletter). She also had a number of worthwhile suggestions.
Thanks to all Board Members who so generously donated funds to make this payoff possible. It represents a most significant milestone in the organization’s short history.
The First Recon Squadron’s new Commanding Officer (CO) takes over from Colonel “Chi Chi” Rodriquez with an unusual background. Beside being a fully qualified Senior Pilot with U-2 Spy Plane experience, the new CO is also an experienced computer programmer.
Lt. Colonel Colby Kuhns (left) first entered the USAF as an enlisted man. He joined the USAF in 1991, spending two years as a computer programmer before being accepted into the Air Force Academy, where he graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Humanities. The Colonel earned his wings in 1998, and has now now accumulated more than 3,700 piloting hours on active duty.
The new CO has had broad flying experience starting with flying cargo and personnel to 6 continents and over 35 countries. He has been an instructor in 4 aircraft, teaching everything from basic maneuvers to advanced formation flying to over 100 students. In the U-2, he has flown over 200 hours of combat time over Iraq and Afghanistan. He has also flown missions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Korea, and over the borders of the U.S.
His staff experience includes a stint as the U-2 Functional Manager for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Headquarters U.S. Air Force (HAF), Washington, D.C., and was responsible for developing and implementing ISR programs, while providing planning, programming, budgeting oversight, and functional guidance.
He was also the lead action officer for the implementation of the Global Hawk into the High Altitude ISR portfolio.
Most recently, Colonel Kuhns was the Director of Operations (DO) for the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron, responsible for training and employing the sole source of over 50 deployable U-2 pilots and ISR professionals to meet global high altitude ISR demand.
FAS CO, Chi Chi Rodriguez, meets FASF Team & Sees Columbus
If your cursor turns to a hand over any photo below, click it for full-sized viewing Photo credits: Donna, Daniel, Chris & Chi Chi Rodriguez and Len Zgonina
Not since 1917 has a commander of the First Aero Squadron visited the town of Columbus, but yesterday, Lt. Colonel Steven “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, who just left Beale AFB, near Sacramento, CA., stopped over on his way to his new East Coast assignment. The Colonel was there to visit with fellow members of the First Aero Squadron Foundation (FASF), all precisely where his own active duty First Aero Squadron unit saw its first combat – – – starting operations in March of 1916.
Colonel Rodriguez just relinquished command of the FAS at Beale, where his mission was amazingly almost identical to that of the flying squadron that saw its first action here in Columbus 97 years ago. The present FAS stationed at Beale trains Air Force pilots and crews to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance, those very same military intelligence tasks undertaken out of Columbus in 1916 to assist General “Blackjack” Pershing in his pursuit of Mexican General Pancho Villa.
Also flying their own plane in from Las Cruces for the festive and historical occasion were Lt. Colonel (USAF Retired), Alan Fisher, now a Pecan Grower in the Mesilla Valley, and Captain Brooks Hindes, Commander of the Las Cruces Civil Air Patrol Squadron. The Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary of the USAF and the Las Cruces Squadron of the CAP is an active participant in the FASF historical mission. Both Colonel Fisher and Captain Hindes are active FASF members.
Richard Dean (and his wife, Betty), founder of the Columbus Historical Society, entertained Colonel Chi Chi and his family at the Dean home, while John Read, Chief Park Ranger and Heritage Director of the Pancho Villa State Park (PVSP) in Columbus, accompanied by his wife, Elle, gave the entire Rodriquez family a personal tour of the park’s Exhibit Hall, where the Colonel studied many of the artifacts and other memorabilia left over from Punitive Expedition back in 1916 and 1917, including the full sized Jenny replica hanging in the Exhibit Hall, the plane in which his earliest predecessors flew those Punitive Expedition missions into Mexico.
In marked contrast to that ancient Jenny biplane, two weeks ago, Colonel Rodriguez piloted his last formal flight in the famous U-2 Spy plane (see photos), an aircraft which flies more than 70,000 feet higher than did whose old “Jenny” biplanes of yesteryear. Because modern day U-2 pilots ascend to the lower reaches of space, they must fly encapsulated in regular astronaut space suits, just as do today’s NASA space crews. In photos below are Chris, Daniel, Donna, and Colonel Rodriguez. Before the flight (immediately below), seen in his helmet inside the cockpit, is Chi Chi with his family, on the loading scaffold. Next below, is Chi Chi, landing after his last U-2 flight, and, later, in his space suit with his family.
Chi Chi at Edge of Space – June 2013, a self-portrait
After touring the Park’s Exhibit Hall (below), Columbus Judge Javier Lozano gave Colonel Rodriguez a private tour of the Columbus Historical Society’s Punitive Expedition Museum. Just before his exploration of the Columbus Raid exhibits at the Historical Society’s Museum, a celebratory luncheon was held in the Colonel’s honor.
Heritage Director and FASF member, John Read, at PVSP, describing the 1916 raid on Columbus to Ric Lambart and Chi Chi. Photo above and those below all by FASF member, Len Zgonina
Colonel Rodriguez, an active member of the FASF, had his first opportunity to meet some of the organization’s Trustee leadership, including Bill Wehner, President; Gene Valdes, Immediate Past President; and Trustees Bud Canfield, Scott Schmid (of Deming, NM), and former Mayor of Columbus and current Treasurer of the FASF, Martha Skinner. Also attending the festivities from Deming was Dr. Kathleen Martin, an active FASF member. All during the events depicted, Colonel Rodriguez was accompanied by his wife, Donna, and his two young sons, Daniel and Chris.
The Colonel and his family are looking forward to returning to Columbus in 2016 for the planned centennial celebration of the Columbus raid by Mexican General Pancho Villa’s troops, the incident which caused Columbus to become known as “The Birthplace of American Air Power,” and also, “The Cradle of American Air Power” (see painting on Home Page).
Below is the VIP Rodriguez family at the celebratory lunch with FASF members and their spouses. Immediately below, L to R, are Chi Chi, Jeanne & Bud Canfield, Scott Schmid, Bill Wehner, Mary McClain, and Gene Valdes. The event was held at the Patio Cafe in Columbus.
To the Left are: Col. Alan Fisher, USAF Ret., Donna Rodriguez, and CAP Captain Brooks HindesAbove, Colonel Rodriguez stands on the FASF Aerodrome, just where his predecessors, some 97 years ago, undertook their first combat missions, thereby helping bring about the naming of Columbus as the “Cradle of American Air Power.” The newly graded airstrip under Chi Chi’s feet was recently re-dedicated and opened for air traffic by FASF President, Bill Wehner, one of the Foundation’s initial organizers, driving forces and a founding trustee.
Linda Lynch, well-known and highly talented Artist from Columbus, has agreed to join the FASF Board of Advisors with an eye towards advising us on matters relating to our art and graphic needs. Linda’s husband, Paul Salopek, is the two-time Pulitzer award-winning journalist who gave the FASF crowd such a fascinating presentation last October, when he described his then upcoming National Geographic sponsored around-the-world trek, one expected to last 7 years.
Deming HS Wildcat JROTC Brigade’s Color Guard Team had the honor of presenting the official colors at Columbus’ new Sheriff’s Sub-station opening celebration, reported the Brigade’s Senior Army Instructor, Colonel Gary Stewart. The Deming High School Junior Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) will be working, along with the Air Force ROTC (AFROTC) Detachment 505 at NMSU, with the FASF Board of Trustees during the coming school year of 2013-2014 – – – for the first time.
Andrew “Drew” Emery (at left), award-winning documentary film maker and son of our own Trustee, Ken Emery, joined Bill Wehner, Gene Valdes and Ric Lambart at Bill’s airpark home to informally brainstorm ideas for the future of the FASF. It was Drew’s incisive letter to the FASF last year that strongly recommended we start planning for a full-time Executive Director, since an all volunteer organization is too hard put to do the sort of significant expansion envisioned for our organization. Grants and other fund-raising themes were discussed. Drew suggested we consider the idea of writing a book about the FASF story, and specifically about some of the colorful young aviators who first flew those old Jenny’s out of Columbus during 1916 and 1917. The idea of actually making a documentary film about the historical FAS was also raised. Drew pledged to keep in touch with the Board and to help in any way possible, considering his heavy fim-making and speaking schedules.
Here’s an interesting article from the USAF’s Official “AIRMAN” magazine about the First Aero Squadron’s historical centennial celebration, including both a short historical video clip and a collage of related photos.
