Fight’s On: Airmen Hackin’ the Mish takes place Dec. 7 on Columbus AFB

Columbus Air Force Base will be hosting Fight’s On: Airmen Hackin’ the Mish Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Columbus Club and is open to all 14th Flying Training Wing officers, enlisted and civilian Airmen.

The event is a professional development day for Airmen to connect with each other by learning about fellow Airmen’s combat missions and experiences in today’s Air Force to help Team BLAZE understand how it contributes to those missions.

Representatives from various career fields across the Air Force including tactical air control party, security forces, combat weather, pilots and explosive ordnance disposal will be speaking to members of Team BLAZE. Each career field will speak for 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. After the speakers conclude, Airmen are welcome to socialize with the guest speakers to learn more about their experiences.

“We selected battlefield Airmen to speak, because they are enlisted, non-flyers who have been in combat and can connect with our Airmen through their experiences,” said Maj. Thomas Hyde, 14th Flying Training Wing Commander’s Action Group chief. “We selected the pilots because they can connect to our team through the flying mission. It is also significant that all of these Airmen are relatively young … all are Airmen, NCOs and CGOs and have recently been in operations and can speak to why preparing now and being ready to go at a moment’s notice is so important.”

Fight’s On: Airmen Hackin’ the Mish also falls on the same day as the 77th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Columbus AFB will use this national observance day as an opportunity to reflect on its military heritage and the courageous acts that fellow Airmen have executed during the attack, in defense of our nation. Columbus AFB hopes to use those actions of prior service members, along with our guest speakers’ experiences to cultivate today’s Airmen.  

“(This event) is a chance for them to grow and cultivate themselves as leaders and connect to the mission that is occurring right now,” Hyde said. “It allows all of Team BLAZE, from every group and specialty, the chance to hear from individuals who have been downrange (battlefield airmen and pilots) and connect what is done and created here at Columbus, to Airmen delivering lethality in support of America’s interests around the globe.”