Air Force Special Tactics airmen passed through Eunice about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday on a journey from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to Hurlburt Field, Florida.
The 830-mile ruck march, which started on Feb. 22, is the fifth Special Tactics memorial ruck march honoring its airmen who have been killed in action since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
The march occurs each year after a Special Tactics airman is killed in action.
This year the march pays tribute to Staff Sgt. Dylan J. Elchin, who was killed in Afghanistan on Nov. 27, 2018. He is the 19th Special Tactics team member to have died in action since the 2001 attacks.
The Air Force’s Special Tactics of the 24th Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command, are akin to the Navy’s Seals and other services special forces.
There are 20 airmen marching and about 20 others working in support on the trip scheduled to arrive at the Florida air base on March 4.
Tech Sgt. Nate Wright, one of the marchers, said, “This event is an opportunity for us to honor Dylan Elchin and the other fallen ST members that have died since 9/11. It is our chance to kind of get away from our regular life and kind of come out there and just focus on the guys we’ve lost.”
Wright, in a phone interview, said he has been in the Air Force and Special Tactics for 12 years. He calls his job as a combat controller “...the single most powerful individual on the battlefield.”
Staff Sgt. Evan Wilson, also a combat controller, said the march is a good period to reflect on Elchin and his “sacrifice for us.”
Wilson said the team members do three-and-half-hour shifts walking about 12 miles.
The time is about reflecting and learning about the fallen, their families and raising awareness of the Special Tactics community, he said.
Wilson also thanked the public’s help and support in the phone interview.
According to a news release, “Elchin, along with U.S. Army Capt. Andrew Ross and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Emond, were killed in action when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, Nov. 27, 2018, while deployed in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. U.S. Army Sgt. Jason McClary died later as a result of injuries sustained from the IED (improvised explosive device).”
There are about 1,000 Special Tactics operators in 29 locations, an Air Force news release stated. They are described as experts in global access, precision strike, personnelrecovery and battlefield surgery operations.
They are the most decorated community in the Air Force since the end of the Vietnam War, with one Medal of Honor, ten Air Force Crosses, and 44 Silver Stars, a news release stated.
“A disciplined special operations force of hand-selected Airmen leading joint operations, Special Tactics Airmen are deliberate in their thoughts and actions to deliver solutions to the nation’s most complex military challenges. They conduct global air, space, and cyber-enabled special operations across the spectrum of conflict to prepare for, fight, and win our nation’s wars,” it stated.
The airmen begin their training at Medina Annex at Lackland and become combat ready at Hurlburt Field, a path reflected by the march across five states.
The march began in 2009 as the “Tim Davis Memorial March,” but was renamed in 2011 to the “Special Tactics Memorial March.”
The march carries a baton with each fallen team member’s name on it.
They are:
Master Sgt. William McDaniel of Greenville, Ohio, Special Tactics pararescueman, Feb. 22, 2002
Staff Sgt. Juan Ridout of Oak Harbor, Washington, Special Tactics pararescueman, Feb. 22, 2002
Master Sgt. John Chapman of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Special Tactics combat controller, Mar. 4, 2002
Senior Airman Jason Cunningham of Camarillo, California, Special Tactics pararescueman, Mar. 4, 2002
Staff Sgt. Scott Sather of Clio, Michigan, Special Tactics combat controller, April 8, 2003
Capt. Derek Argel of Lompoc, California Special Tactics officer, May 30, 2005
Capt. Jeremy Fresques of Farmington, New Mexico, Special Tactics officer, May 30, 2005
Staff Sgt. Casey Crate of Spanaway, Washington, Special Tactics combat controller, May 30, 2005
Senior Airman Adam Servais of Onalaska, Wisconsin, Special Tactics combat controller, Aug. 19, 2006
Technical Sgt. Scott Duffman of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Special Tactics pararescueman, Feb. 18, 2007
Technical Sgt. William Jefferson of Norfolk, Virginia, Special Tactics combat controller, March 22, 2008
Staff Sgt. Timothy Davis of Aberdeen, Washington, Special Tactics combat controller, Feb. 20, 2009
Senior Airman Daniel Sanchez of El Paso, Texas, Special Tactics combat controller, Sept. 16, 2010
Senior Airman Mark Forester of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Special Tactics combat controller, Sept. 29, 2010
Technical Sgt. John Brown of Tallahassee, Forida, Special Tactics pararescueman, Aug. 6, 2011
Technical Sgt. Daniel Zerbe of York, Pennsylvania, Special Tactics pararescueman, Aug. 6, 2011
Staff Sgt. Andrew Harvell of Long Beach, California, Special Tactics combat controller, Aug. 6, 2011
Capt. Matthew Roland of Lexington, Kentucky, Special Tactics officer, Aug. 26, 2015
Staff Sgt. Forrest Sibley of Pensacola, Florida, Special Tactics combat controller, Aug. 26, 2015
Staff Sgt. Dylan Elchin of Hookstown, Pennsylvania, Special Tactics combat controller, Nov. 27, 2018
The 24th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs office is posting updates and imagery on the following sites:
facebook.com/AirForceSpecialTactics/
instagram.com/air_force_special_tactics/
airforcespecialtactics.af.mil/
twitter.com/AFSpecOpsCmd
dvidshub.net/feature/SpecialTacticsMemorialMarch
