Sapper Earns Silver Wings Second Lieutenant Bradley Sapper was one of 25 Air Force officers who have prevailed during a year of training, earning silver wings and the right to be an Air Force pilot. Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training class of 13-01 graduated Oct. 26 during a ceremony at Columbus Air Force Base, in Columbus, Miss. Sapper was one of three officers named as a distinguished graduate of the class. He ranked third in his class. The 52-week pilot training program consists of a six-week preflight phase of academics and physiological training to prepare students for flight. The second phase, primary training, is conducted in a single-engine turbo-prop T-6A Texan II. Students learn aircraft flight characteristics, emergency procedures, takeoff and landing procedures, aerobatics and formation flying. Students also practice night flying, instrument and cross country navigation flying. After primary training, students select by order of merit, advanced training in the fighter-bomber or airlift-tanker track. Sapper selected the airlift tanker track. This track used the T-1A Jayhawk, the military version of a multi-engine Beech Jet 400 business jet. Instruction centers on crew coordination and management, instrument training, cross country flying and simulated refueling and airdrop missions. This training takes about 26 weeks and includes 185 hours of ground training, 43 hours of in-flight simulator and 104 hours in the T-1A jet. Sapper will continue his training at Altus AFB in Altus, Okla. He will train for six months on the C-17 Globe Master Cargo Plane. This is one of the largest jets the Air Force flies. He will continue on to survival training in Washington State for land survival training and water survival training in Pensacola, Fla., at the Pensacola Air Base. At the conclusion of this training phase, he will be stationed at Charleston Air Force Base, Charleston, S.C., with a selected C-17 squadron. Sapper is a 2011 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and a 2006 graduate of Warsaw Community High School. His parents are Frank and Debbie Sapper.
Jones Awarded Purple Heart SP 4 Andrew C. Jones was awarded the Purple Heart Oct. 12 in San Antonio, Texas. Jones was with the 15th Brigade Support Battalion, 2D Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, when he was wounded in action in Baghdad, Iraq. He is currently residing with his son, Tyg, and wife, Leigh, in San Antonio. She is in the Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base, studying to be a physician’s assistant. The formal ceremony was Nov. 5 at Ft. Sam Houston, San Antonio. Andrew is the son of Cyndi and John Routh, North Webster, and Chuck Jones, LaPorte. The Purple Heart is a U.S. military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award given to members of the U.S. military.
