TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- In the last few months, the 325th Training Support Squadron has seen its share of restorations as the squadron was able to secure and preserve $75 million dollars in assets shortly after Hurricane Michael.
However, two weeks prior to the storm, two aircraft static symbols of those assets, an F-22 Raptor sculpture and an F-15 Eagle sculpture, were taken from their posts in front of the TRSS buildings and handed to the 325th Maintenance Squadron for a complete make-over.
“We were fortunate that the jets were in the process of repair prior to the storm, and were safely locked away, because they would not have made it,” said Lt. Col Justin Anhalt, 325th TRSS commander. “But they did, and the 325th MXS folks have made them better than they ever were. This restoration is just the start of great things to come for Tyndall.”
Gregory Elliott, 325th TRSS learning resource center technician, coordinated the restoration. In the past, the restoration has cost the squadron upward of $56,000, but with the help of two Airmen of the 325th MXS Low Observable (LO) shop, those costs were mitigated and the expert work was accomplished.
Staff Sgt. Matthew Benante, 325th MXS LO supervisor, and Tech. Sgt. Bret Mills, 325th MXS LO craftsman, spearheaded the restoration which included sanding, printing waterproof graphics and painting the degraded statics, making them as good as new. The LO Airmen volunteered their time to complete this project.
The emblems, Elliott said, represent the squadron’s training mission which includes Air Dominance, lethality and survivability.
“As the building has been restored, putting these aircraft back symbolizes a sort of overwatch for the squadron,” Elliott said.
“These jets represent the skill, talent and commitment within the 325th Fighter Wing,” Anhalt said.
The 325th TRSS continues to be the home to Air Dominance F-22 pilot training, and it is the only schoolhouse in the Air Force to do so. These symbols restored and mounted back in front of the squadron are a symbol of resilience and strength.