Special Operations Airmen to march 812 miles honoring fallen comrades

Published Sept. 30, 2015
24th Special Operations Wing

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- The fourth Special Tactics Memorial March will begin Oct. 4 in remembrance of the two Special Tactics Airmen who were killed Aug. 26 in an apparent insider attack in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The march began in 2009 in memory of Staff Sgt. Tim Davis, a combat controller killed by an Improvised Explosive Device, Feb. 20, 2009, during Operation Enduring Freedom. The march is held only when a Special Tactics operator is killed in action that year. In addition, the memorial march honors all 19 Special Tactics pararescuemen and combat controllers who have been killed in action since 2001.

Twenty Special Tactics Airmen will begin an 812-mile trek Oct. 4 from Medina Annex, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas at 2 a.m. relaying through five states, averaging 12.5 miles per leg. Each two-man team will walk approximately 90 miles during the 10-day trek, carrying a 50-pound ruck sack and a commemorative baton engraved with a fallen Special Tactics Airman’s name.

The team will make their way through downtown San Antonio at approximately 6 a.m. before heading east across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

The 20 team members will reunite in Wynnhaven Beach, Fla., Oct. 13. They will march the final 4.6 miles together, and then walk the final mile from Hurlburt Field’s front gate with surviving family members of the 19 fallen Special Tactics Airmen and members of the community. The march will end at the Special Tactics Training Squadron on Hurlburt Field at 6 p.m. with a small ceremony.

Event organizer, retired Chief Master Sgt. Steven Haggett, said the team hopes to rally supporters throughout the trek who want to march beside them for this worthy cause.

“We do this arduous march to commemorate and honor fallen members of Air Force Special Tactics and their families. These warriors gave their lives in defense of freedom and our nation's security, and so every step of every mile is in memory of that sacrifice,” Haggett said. “We want to educate our fellow Americans about these Special Tactics Airmen who made the ultimate sacrifice and pay tribute in a public way to the families and communities who support these special operators. We hope to show all Americans that while these heroes may be gone, they will never be forgotten.”

Media interested in covering the start of this march from Lackland on Oct. 4 should contact 1st Lt. Katrina Cheesman at (317) 374-4869 or (850) 884-3902.