Laughlin AFB Current Events

Airmen at Laughlin Air Force Base remembered those who are prisoners of war or missing in action on National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The solemn day was marked by a silent vigil at the flagpole from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a special ceremony.

LUBBOCK, Texas -- An Air Force T-1 Jayhawk assigned to Laughlin Air Force Base’s (Del Rio, Texas) 86th Flying Training Squadron landed short of the runway near Preston-Smith International Airport in Lubbock, Texas, shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday night (May 21, 2008).

Jets roared across Laughlin Air Force Base and Del Rio on Saturday, May 10 at the "Thunder Over the Amistad" 2008 air show. People of all ages lined up against the railing to see the planes upclose while many avoided the sun by seeking shelter under the wings of planes on display. With Podcast!

"It's an underappreciated airplane," he said for many, unless they are on the ground. "It's the most appreciated aircraft in the military," Capt. Paul "Harb" Brown said, because it supports ground troops. "I've been 90 meters away from friendly troops," he said of combat missions. "It's a much closer type of support." With Podcast!

Entrepreneur Nick Khoury was excited and worried in approximately equal parts Thursday as he drove to his appointment with the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force’s air demonstration team, in Del Rio for the annual Laughlin AFB air show.

What makes a Thunderbird tick? Maj. Chris Austin, who is #2 on this year's team talks about his career in the U.S. Air Force, flying combat, and The Thunderbirds. With Podcast!

Laughlin’s spectacular show, Air Amistad 2008, is slated for May 10 on the base’s flightline. Highlighting the far-ranging and diverse overhead aerobatics will be the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, adding another notch in their record of at least 25 appearances at Laughlin. Visitors are encouraged to come early, and stay for the Thunderbirds climax.

The Texas Historical Commission has produced a cast metal historical marker entitled “Operation Brass Knob,” code name for the very high altitude missions of the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing that spotted, documented, and monitored Russian aircraft and missiles on the communist island of Cuba. On May 23, at 10:30 a.m., yet-to-be-identified U.S. Air Force aircraft will do a fly-over pass above the ceremonies on the banks of San Felipe Creek, conferring modern honors on historic predecessors.

Editor’s Note: I had originally solicited the response of this Texas-born deployed soldier for a story on the Vatican’s recently proclaimed “new sins” for the modern age. I had asked the soldier how he reconciled his faith with his service in what some might consider a violent war. His e-mailed response was way more eloquent than the question, however, and stands on its own. It follows; the soldier’s identity is shielded to avoid any censure.

Col. John “Deuce” Doucette took command of Laughlin’s 47th Flying Training Wing in December 2007, and is now getting settled into the tasks at hand. Doucette and his family are quickly becoming familiarized with Del Rio and its welcoming population of civic leaders, schools, government agencies and elected officials. But he’s most anxious to get acquainted with the skies above Del Rio in his personalized T-38 “Talon” jet trainer.