Chaplaincy with the "Red Tails" The 944th Fighter Wing....one of the descendant wings of the Tukegee Airmen!

F-16 "Red Tail" jet at the 944th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB

A few years ago, I served as the Wing Chaplain at the 944th Fighter Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit at Luke Air Force Base.  The wing flew F-16 fighter jets and trained pilots to be fighter pilots.  

With two of the original Tuskegee Airmen in 2007!

The 944th was a "Red Tail" wing, meaning it was historically connected with the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII, the first African American pilots in the USAF, (and the military).  They painted the tails on their aircraft red, and the "Red Tail" became their signature symbol!


In 2007, the 944th was B.R.A.C.'d  (base realignment and closure).  Meaning, it was chosen to be seriously downsized, perhaps eventually shut down and totally deactivated. 

Photo of some of the original Tuskegee Airmen in WWII

For the next 18 months or so, the wing went through a sort of death process, deactivating sections of the wing.  It was a sad and stressful time.  People were scrambling to find other positions and assignments in the Air Force.  Many wing members were having trouble selling their houses as the economy had just crashed.  

"Red Tail" P-51 Mustang, aircraft flown by the Tuskegee Airmen in WWII

For a chaplain, doing ministry during this time was like doing hospice ministry on a massive scale.  

We did the largest retirement ceremony I had ever done, more than 250 people all being retired at once.  For others, some could not find a new assignment, and had to leave the Air Force.  And for some, they found assignments with other units.

944th FW saying goodbye to their Red Tail F-16s

There were deactivation ceremonies of the Operations and the  Maintenance Group.   Hangars and office buildings were vacated.  The wing's F-16 fighter jets were taken away, and the wing began to look like a ghost-town.

At one of our deactivation ceremonies, many of the original Tuskegee Airmen attended in person.  The above picture is me standing with two of the original Tuskegee airmen! 

Of course, there was much more than just this period of deactivation during my time of assignment with the 944th and Luke AFB.   In all, I served for eight years at Luke AFB, and it was a wonderful eight years! 

Pretty amazing to be part of this incredible legacy!