Tag Archives: laughlin afb

Naming Ceremony Got Three AF Commanders Fired

The Naming Ceremony — long a fighter pilot tradition — has apparently wound its way into the earliest stages of a pilot’s career. A Naming Ceremony for student pilots at Laughlin AFB, Texas, ultimately contributed to a squadron commander, group commander, and wing commander getting fired:

In a rare action, the Air Force said Wednesday it had relieved three commanders at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio.

The move came in the wake of incidents in the past year that included a female pilot being given a vulgar name during a drinking ritual and another Read more

One Dead, One Injured after T-38 Crash

UPDATE: The pilots have now been identified by the Air Force. Capt. Paul J. Barbour, 32, was killed in the crash.  Capt. Joshua Hammervold was injured.  Both were instructors with the 87th Flying Training Squadron.

A US Air Force T-38 flying out of Laughlin AFB, Texas, crashed on Monday. One of those onboard survived; the other did not.  The Air Force withheld the names.

Witnesses cited by the Del Rio News-Herald said they saw a parachute and a lone pilot descend to the ground near the crash.

The aircraft should have been a T-38C, which should have Read more

Blog: Military Commanders Misusing Punishments to Avoid Appeals

Tony Carr, blogging at John Q. Public, recently highlighted an incident at Laughlin AFB in which four officers were offered Articles 15 for drug-related offenses. The first officer “publicly argue[d] his case with the convening authority” — and won. His Article 15 was thrown out.

Carr continues with what (he says) the base did next [emphasis added]:

The remaining three officers accused of factually identical conduct based on the same body of evidence likely assumed their charges would be similarly dissolved…

Calculating that the evidence against the remaining three was too weak to survive a genuine challenge, the Laughlin chain of command…opted to achieve the functional equivalent of an Article 15 by formally reprimanding the remaining officers…

Unlike an Article 15 or court-martial, an administrative Letter of Reprimand (LOR) can be issued on the basis of information solely and subjectively evaluated by Read more

Laughlin Airman No Longer Hides

For [Senior Airman Matthew Byrd], his family has been accepting but remains uncomfortable with the knowledge of his sexuality, and like so many, their views on homosexuality are the byproduct of stereotypes…

Growing up, he was outgoing and because of this experienced daily harassment and slander from homophobic Read more

Air Force Officer Loses Leg, Re-enters Pilot Training

According to an Air Force News release, 1Lt Ryan McGuire has been granted a medical waiver to return to pilot training with a prostethic leg below the knee.

McGuire was reportedly injured in a boating accident during pilot training; since having his lower leg amputated, he has run the Air Force Marathon.  He was found medically fit for duty just this past August, and at the end of October his medical waiver for pilot training was approved.

The article indicates that other active pilots have used prosthetics, including Read more