Security forces begin 148-mile ruck march to Ground Zero

Published July 21, 2011
By 502nd Air Base Wing and 81st Training Wing
Public Affairs

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- After Tuesday's change of command ceremony for the 81st Security Forces Squadron concluded, nine of Keesler's force defenders embarked on a journey to march 148 miles to honor some of America's fallen heroes.

"Security forces units from around the country are conducting a ruck march to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and to pay tribute to fellow 'defenders' who have fallen by enemy hands since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom," according to Master Sgt. Daniel Fuentes Sr., Keesler's team leader.

Marching with Fuentes are eight other 81st SFS members who've been deployed to Southwest Asia -- Master Sgt. Michael Asdel; Staff Sgts. Austin Sutton and Nicholas and Shannon Tessmer; Senior Airmen Chelsie McCall and Christopher Hernandez and Airmen 1st Class Anthony Wilson and Brian Fossum.

Members of the Joint Base San Antonio security forces community began the first of 15 legs of the 2,181-mile ruck march July 12 at the Air Force Security Forces Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and handed off to security forces from Barksdale AFB, La., in LaGrange, Texas, Saturday.

Keesler's team picked up the march Wednesday and proceeds to Alexandria, La., to pass the guidon to Airmen from Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., at noon Sunday. The Keesler team is based in Jasper, Texas, as the march progresses along U.S. Highway 190. The squad has been preparing for the challenge for several months with 8 to 9-mile training marches several times a week.

"While training, we've learned a lot about staying hydrated and how to keep our feet healthy by taping and wearing socks correctly," Fuentes pointed out.

The march proceeds through Shanksville, Pa., before terminating in New York City at "Ground Zero" in time for the 10th anniversary ceremony Sept. 11.

With Airmen carrying heavy ruck sacks and marching in temperatures near 100 degrees with high humidity, precautions by calling for rotating shifts, staying well hydrated and traveling with escort vehicles for safety and emergencies.

Fuentes said as each team completes its leg of the march, a streamer with the base's name is attached to the "Defensor Fortis" flag representing Air Force security forces and mirroring the beret flash they wear.

The "Ruck March to Remember" originated in late 2010.

Maj. JimAlves, 4th SFS commander at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., suggested the march after reading about how combat controllers and pararescuemen walked 800-plus miles from Lackland to Hurlburt Field, Fla., in honor of fallen special-tactics Airmen.

Tech. Sgt. Kenneth Broughman, overall march coordinator from the 4th SFS, said the march is a time security forces to reflection on how Sept. 11 changed their career field, their lives and a nation.

"We're doing it to reflect on the time we've been away from our loved ones due to deployments, the effects those deployments have had on each person, and ultimately to remember the defenders who lost their lives by enemy hands since the start of Operation Enduring Freedom," Broughman said.

Since 9/11, 10 security forces Airmen have been killed and more than 100 have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan combat operations.

Other participating bases are Tyndall AFB, Fla.;Moody and RobinsAFBs, Ga.; PopeAFB, N.C.; Langley AFB, Va.; Andrews AFB, Md.; Dover AFB, Del.; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.; and the New YorkAir National Guard.

To follow the progress of the march, check out the Security Forces 9/11 Ruck March to Remember page on Facebook.