An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

380AEW Article

Deployed Airmen, Soldiers honor fallen comrades from downed Chinook

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Chance Babin
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing public affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  More than 200 Airmen, Soldiers and civilian personnel at the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing attended a taps ceremony Aug.11, in honor of the victims of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter that crashed in Afghanistan, killing 38 U.S. and Afghan service members.

The base Company Grade Officers' Council here planned the event that was designed to show respect for the victims of the crash.

"I noticed an outpouring of grief around base at the news of the crash and wanted to plan a ceremony that people could come to as an outlet," said 1st Lt. Jen Carter, the CGOC secretary and a KC-10 pilot with the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron.

Airmen at the 380th AEW hold a memorial retreat ceremony at the end of each month to honor the fallen, so it made sense to use that ceremony as a baseline for the taps ceremony, Carter said.

"We changed the ceremony to be specific to the Chinook crash and made a few more changes to have it just include taps alone," Carter said. "We wanted the taps song to be memorable and for the ceremony to be at night."

The Chinook was carrying 25 Navy and Air Force special operations personnel to an Aug. 6 firefight in eastern Afghanistan's Wardak province. The crash was the deadliest single incident in the decade-long war in the country.

"The taps ceremony meant a lot to me," Carter said. "Those men were elite war fighters and they died in the line of duty. They died [in action] and I wanted to remember them the way a service member should be remembered."

Tech. Sgt. Jim Yerger, the ground safety manager for the 380th AEW, was part of the honor guard team that folded the flag at the ceremony and helped organize the event.

"The feelings I got were mixed," Yerger said about the ceremony. "It was nice to see the base put something like this together to honor the fallen, but it was sad because of the circumstances."

Capt. Capri Baptiste, the comptroller for the 380th AEW, lead the formation during ceremony.

"It was an honor for me to present arms and show respect for our fallen comrades," she said.

Carter said everyone was incredibly helpful in setting up the ceremony and the support was overwhelming.

"I was very happy with how the ceremony came together in the end. I got chills when I heard Taps begin and we all saluted," Carter said. "I was very moved."