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Airman of the Year visits Capitol Hill with Commander

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Matthew Reece
  • 315th Explosive Ordinance Disposal Flight
CHARLESTON AFB, S.C. --  As this year's 22nd Air Force Airmen of the Year, I was given the incredible opportunity to travel with Colonel Tim Wrighton, commander of the 315th Airlift Wing, Command Chief Master Sergeant Ben Futrell, command chief of the 315th AW and Captain Wayne Capps, of the Public Affairs office to Washington D.C. for their annual Congressional Delegation visit.

Being my first time in the district, I tried to take in as many of the sites as I could in a short amount of time. Capt. Capps, familiar with the district area, graciously took the time to show me around on our first day there, and we hit all of the major memorials and monuments in the famous mall area.

The next morning we met with Col. Wrighton and Chief Futrell, and we were off to Capitol Hill to meet with Congressmen Brown and Wilson, and Senator DeMint, of South Carolina. This was by far the most impressive part of the trip, and in the back of my mind before coming to Washington D.C., this was the part where I thought I would be left out of and put in the corner while Col. Wrighton spoke with the delegates.

Fortunately for me, this was not the case. Col. Wrighton immediately introduced me to every delegate we met with; explaining to them my award and having me tell them about some of my experiences in Iraq. Surprisingly, the delegates were very receptive to me and listened with great interest about my experiences with our Explosive Ordinance Disposal team in Iraq. I was extremely impressed with the way the delegates genuinely cared about the Airmen's safety from Charleston AFB, in the Iraqi and Afghanistan theatre of operations, expressing their willingness to help out with any issues as needed.

During our lunch break after meeting with the delegates, we stopped at the Library of Congress for a short tour which could easily have lasted all day; however, due to time constraints we had to cut it short and go back to our meetings. Beautiful artwork and architecture decorate the interior of the Library, and even though we were there for about an hour we probably did not even see a third of everything inside.

We capped off the trip with a tour of the East Wing of the Whitehouse the morning of our departure, and as you can imagine, this was also met with wide eyed amazement from me. Being in the different rooms where international dignitaries and other people of great importance meet, was quite incredible. Just being in the room where President's Lincoln and Kennedy were laid after there assassinations, was overpowering. Being able to see the artwork alone is reason enough to take the tour.

Overall I would have to say my experience with Col. Wrighton, Command Chief Futrell, and Capt. Capps was one I will never forget. Being a first timer in Washington D.C., I really felt that I was given the red carpet treatment. Hopefully Col. Wrighton continues to offer this opportunity to future Airmen of the Year winners. It is an experience not soon forgotten, and a great way to experience the inner workings of our country and see firsthand what our Congressman and Senators are doing for us in South Carolina.