Two Florida Airmen killed in Iraq helicopter crash

Two Patrick AFB airmen among those killed in Iraq helicopter crash
Florida Today
Eric Rogers
March 17, 2018

“No words can heal the pain from the loss of these true American heroes,” said Col. Kurt Matthews, commander of the 920th Rescue Wing, in a statement. “You can be proud knowing that MSgt. Posch and SSgt. Enis gave their last full measure performing their mission and serving our most noble Pararescue creed: ‘These things we do, that others may live.'"

Two airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing out of Patrick Air Force Base were among the seven crew members killed in a helicopter crash in western Iraq on Thursday.

Master Sgt. William R. Posch, 36, of Indialantic,

Lt. Gen. Maryanne Miller, chief of Air Force Reserve, presented Master Sgt. William Posch, 308th Rescue Squadron, with her commander's coin for her appreciation of his diligence and dedication over the last month in response to the back-to-back hurricanes. Posch and his teammates rescued 235 people, 21 dogs and five cats during Hurricane Harvey in Texas before returning home to Florida a few days later to evacuate their families and wing assets in preparation for Hurricane Irma. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Lindsey Maurice

and Staff Sgt. Carl P. Enis, 31, of Tallahassee

Staff Sgt. Carl Enis, 31, was among the seven Airmen killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq, March 15, 2018. He was assigned to the 308th Rescue Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Enis was a Tallahassee, Florida, resident who joined the unit in 2010 and served for 8 years. Courtesy/Air Force

Both were assigned to the 308th Rescue Squadron, Air Force Reserve, based out of Patrick.
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Vietnam MIA Family Received Dog Tags and Closure

Sons receive missing dad’s Vietnam War dog tags
Florida Today
Rick Neale
November 25, 2017

Shortly after rescuing a downed American pilot behind enemy lines, Air Force Capt. Richard “Dick” Kibbey’s first daring mission of the Vietnam War proved to be his last — haunting his grieving family for the next half-century.

North Vietnamese anti-aircraft fire raked the fuselage of Kibbey’s HH-3E helicopter, which burst into flames on Feb. 6, 1967. The doomed “Jolly Green Giant” slammed into a sheer limestone cliff near the mountainous Mu Ghia Pass on the Laos-North Vietnam border.

Kibbey was listed as missing in action after the crash. His wife, Mary Ann, moved that summer from Vero Beach to North Wherry Housing on Patrick Air Force Base for emotional support, and their four children went on to graduate from Satellite High.

The children say their mother died in 1979 of a broken heart, wondering whether her husband was alive.
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Giving Feels Awesome at Patrick Air Force Base

One boy's trash is another boy's treasure
AFTAC Public Affairs
by Susan A. Romano
Posted 6/27/2013

Rafael Nuñez Jr., gives a thumbs up after collecting several pieces of used baseball equipment to distribute to underprivileged youth in the Dominican Republic. Nuñez, a computer security manager with the Air Force Technical Applications Center at Patrick AFB, Fla., founded a non-profit organization called ‘Giving Feels Awesome,’ whose charter is to “embrace opportunities to connect givers at every level to underprivileged children in need of a lift, hope and happiness through sports participation.”
(Courtesy Photo)

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- For someone who doesn't play baseball, doesn't follow baseball, and doesn't even know the rules of the game, he sure does have a lot invested in the sport.

Rafael Nuñez, a computer security manager for the Air Force Technical Applications Center here, has spent the past seven months collecting baseball equipment for underprivileged kids in the Dominican Republic. It started out as a way to reach out to his family's community after visiting his parents in their native homeland.

"Last year I flew down to see my family in Santiago," said Nuñez. "While I was there, my dad took me by a small village called Villa Gonzalez where I saw local boys playing baseball. They were using juice cartons as gloves, wadded-up rags as baseballs, and flattened out milk jugs as bases. It was at that moment that I realized I needed to do something to help these kids."

He returned home and asked around in his circle of friends if they had any old equipment lying around that their children weren't using anymore. He thought he might get a couple of worn out gloves, some beaten-up cleats and a few old baseball bats that had seen better days.

But what began as a solo effort to collect a few items from neighbors and co-workers has since blossomed into a veritable cottage industry for Nuñez.
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Airmen deployed to Afghanistan return to Patrick Air Force Base

Airmen deployed to Afghanistan return to Patrick Air Force Base
920th Rescue Wing returns home from Afghanistan
7:54 PM, Feb. 7, 2012
Written by
R. Norman Moody
FLORIDA

About 50 airmen from the Air Force Reserve's 920th Rescue Wing, headquartered Patrick Air Force Base, arrived back home after a four-month deployment to Afghanistan.

Others are expected on a flight tonight, bringing the total number of returning Airmen to 70 since Monday night.

Two C-17 cargo planes arrived at the base this afternoon, bringing most of the airmen and some of their equipment. The first flight with nine airmen arrived Monday night, two this afternoon and a final flight is expected later tonight.
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The best part is this:

Palm Bay woman gets makeover for husband returning from Afghanistan: Follow Palm Bay's Shellie Rose, who lost weight and got a makeover before greeting her husband Msgt. David Rose, who returned from Afghanistan on Tuesday. Video by Breuse Hickman. Posted Feb. 7, 2011

Patrick Air Force Base combat rescue team training turns into real rescue

Airmen's Training Mission Becomes Rescue

4 Injured When Air Boat Crashes Into Tree

POSTED: 5:49 am EST February 8, 2012

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Combat search and rescue airmen helped rescue four people injured in an air boat crash Tuesday night.

Four people were ejected into the St. John's River after the air boat slammed into a tree. All four were injured, one of them critically, according to Brevard County Fire officials.

Three of the injured were flown from the scene by the combat airmen from Patrick's Air Force base, who were training nearby when the crash happened at about 7 p.m.
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