Dunn celebrates American Airman pride

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephanie Englar
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  The commander of the Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education on Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, spoke to SUPT Class 14-15 during their graduation ceremony on Oct. 3 in the Kaye Auditorium at Columbus AFB.

Col. Jefferson Dunn shared with the audience including a group of newly graduated pilots what he felt were the reasons why it's so great to be an American Airman as well as sharing the stories of Airmen heroes. He also thanked the friends, family and spouses of the newly-graduated pilots and the Airmen of Columbus AFB that supported the graduates throughout their training.

"Out of all the things I love in life, there is nothing I love more than being an American Airman," said Dunn. He continued by giving examples of some of his favorite things to include seeing the sunrise on the flight line and hearing the words "welcome home" that came over the radio after a long overseas mission.

Dunn said that the theme "Heritage to Horizons" is the right theme for the right time.

"The Air Force has an incredible story to tell; our history is the remarkable story of an indomitable spirit innovation and courage," Dunn said. "We must start reminding ourselves, all Airmen, of that story and how proud we can be to play our part in writing the Air Force story."

As part of his reasons for being proud to be an American Airman, Dunn said that some historical figures he looks up to are Billy Mitchell, who believed in the courage of his convictions, and Eddie Rickenbacker, an American fighter ace in World War I.

Dunn served as vice commander of the 14th Flying Training Wing from July 2007 to July 2009.

"[My wife] Susan and I are thrilled to be back with the BLAZE team," Dunn said. "Our time at Columbus was an incredibly rewarding and exciting assignment and one of the most memorable for our family. The Columbus AFB mission is unquestionably vital to the future of the Air Force and nobody does it better than the BLAZE team."