1 Video & 11 Photos
106th Does Fly Over Long Island Friday To Honor Medical And Frontline Workers
The New York Air National Guard will hold a flyover in tribute to healthcare and frontline workers Friday.
The 106th Rescue Wing paid tribute to healthcare workers with a flyover on Friday.
Member os the 106th Rescue Wing during Friday's flyover.
Flying over to honor medical workers.
On the flight deck
Flying over Long Island Friday.
Guardsmen take in the view during the tribute to hospital workers.
Colonel Charles Killian in a mask fellow guardsman and daughter, Captain Courtney Killian, sewed from worn fatigues.
Aircraft from the 106th Rescue Wing, based at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, fly over Stony Brook Southampton Hospital on Firday afternoon. DANA SHAW
Aircraft from the 106th Rescue Wing, based at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, fly over Stony Brook Southampton Hospital on Firday afternoon. DANA SHAW
Hampton Bays resident Patrick Ottati waves an American Flag on Ponquogue Bridge during the 106th Rescue Wing Flyover Saluteon Firday. The 106th Rescue Wing organized a flyover of Long Island hospitals and health care facilities to show appreciation and support for frontline workers. Courtesy NY Air National Guard Senior Airman Daniel Farrell
The New York Air National Guard held a flyover in tribute to health care and frontline workers on Friday, May 15, with a flight path that included Eastern Long Island facilities like Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.
Aircraft from the 106th Rescue Wing, based at Gabreski Airport, took to the air from Westhampton and flew east to East Hampton then north to Greenport. Turning west from the North Fork, the ANG’s HC-130J Combat King II search and rescue aircraft and two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters headed to Glen Cove and New Hyde Park, before dipping south to Long Beach and Jones Beach.
The flyover featured one of the wing’s HC-130J search and rescue aircraft and two HH-60G rescue helicopters flying in formation. The HC-130J Combat King II can drop specially trained pararescue airmen and equipment and is also used to refuel the HH-60G rescue helicopters in mid-air. The HH-60G Pave Hawk is able to lower pararescuemen onto the ground to carry out rescue operations. The 106th Rescue Wing is one of three units in the Air National Guard with these unique capabilities.
“From the men and women of the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing, it is an honor to show our support and thanks to the many first responders, medical workers, essential personnel and military members out there working hard during these challenging times for us all,” Colonel Michael Bank, the commander of the 106th Rescue Wing, said before takeoff.
The flyover was part of a nationwide series of flyovers conducted to honor those on the frontlines of the pandemic.
Dubbed Air Force Salutes, the nation-wide series of flyovers involves local Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units conducting flyovers of cities across the U.S. to recognize those involved in working to contain the COVID-19 effort. The overall effort is called Operational American Resolve.
The flight also demonstrates that the Air Force maintains the readiness required to defend the United States.
The flights cost no extra taxpayer dollars because the pilots and aircrews are required to fly each month to remain qualified. The skills involved in conducting a flyover are the same skills crews use in combat.
East End facilities along the flight path in addition to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital in Southampton Village were East Hampton Healthcare in East Hampton, Stony Brook Eastern Long Island in Greenport and Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead.
The 106th Rescue Wing currently has 150 Airmen deployed as part of the New York National Guard’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have worked alongside doctors and nurses at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, and staffed coronavirus testing sites across Long Island, and assisted in new York City.
