BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. –
Tomorrow Beale Air Force Base will bring home another fallen hero.
Staff Sgt. Richard Dickson, of Rancho Cordova, Calif., was one of four airmen who perished when their MC-12 aircraft went down in Afghanistan, April 27.
Just a year ago, I was among the airmen lining the streets of our base to render our final respects to Army Specialist Chase Marta. It's a procession we all hoped would never have to be repeated.
This time last year, the 940th Wing Force Support Squadron had two of our members deployed to Dover Port Mortuary, and I distinctly remember wondering if they'd helped ready this fallen soldier to come home.
Dover Port Mortuary is the place where all our fallen warriors from all branches of the military are brought beforereturning home.
As I watched the pure white plane from Dover land here at Beale that May morning a year ago, my experiences as a Sustainment Flight NCO suddenly came together for me.
I've been to Dover Port Mortuary for hands-on training. That training impresses upon you that treating fallen soldiers with the utmost respect is expected from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave. I've seen first-hand the diligence and precision taken to ensure absolutely every detail is perfect, with the ultimate goal being to get the fallen warrior home as soon as possible to family members who are waiting.
Honor, dignity, respect - we do that for them, and we do that for their family.
Well-trained military members at the Port Mortuary, perhaps even a reservist from my unit here at Beale, have readied Staff Sgt. Dickson for his final journey home this week. And I know that as he leaves Dover, everyone will line the tarmac there to send him off with a salute.
Taking care of our fallen and the escorts who come to take them back home is the hardest, but most fulfilling and special job we do in Sustainment Flight. I'm proud of our members who serve and do such a superb job at Dover Port Mortuary.
And as the white plane lands here at Beale tomorrow, the streets will once again be lined with hundreds of airmen, waiting to render their salute in a final show of respect.
We owe Staff Sgt Dickson and his family a debt of gratitude for this ultimate sacrifice. I pray that, in this moment of grieving, a sense of honor and pride can be brought to them as Beale Air Force Base pays their final respect to an airman who gave his life for our country.