{"id":240655,"date":"2024-07-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=240655"},"modified":"2024-07-30T19:57:57","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T19:57:57","slug":"tacp-memorial-run-24-hours-of-remembering-the-fallen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=240655","title":{"rendered":"TACP Memorial Run: 24 Hours of Remembering the Fallen"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n A U.S. Airman, assigned to the 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron, carries a TACP flag while participating in the TACP Association 24-Hour Challenge at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 26, 2024. During the 24-Hour Challenge, participants attempt to complete as many miles as possible over a span of 24 hours, all while raising money for the TACP Association. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Sara Berner)
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\n U.S. Airmen, assigned to 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron, participate in the TACP Association 24-Hour Challenge at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 25, 2024. The 24-Hour Challenge, which is conducted by Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) units stationed all over the world, is the TACP Association’s largest and most important fundraising event. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zoe Y. Tourne)
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TOWER BARRACKS, Germany – From supporting Gold Star families to hosting Memorial Day ceremonies, the U.S. military has a tradition of honoring men and women who gave their lives in service. For Tactical Air Control Party Airmen with the U.S. Air Force\u2019s 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron (2nd ASOS), paying tribute to fallen service members took on a noteworthy significance last week.<\/p>\n

On July 25 and 26, TACPs assigned to the 2nd ASOS gathered to conduct the annual TACP Association 24-Hour Challenge at Tower Barracks, Germany. Over a two-day period, the unit occupied a mile-long trail near the Tower Barracks Physical Fitness Center, circling the track, recording their miles and raising funds and awareness for their fallen brethren as they went. A parking lot along the route served as the main hub for the event, where volunteers collected donations and tracked miles, all while providing music and refreshments to the event goers. Though the challenge\u2019s participants consisted mostly of TACPs, Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) service members, civilians, spouses and children also recorded mileage, with some families even camping overnight at the softball fields in support of their service members.<\/p>\n

The event was coordinated through the TACP Association, a nonprofit organization that supports the TACP community through various services and programs. The 24-Hour Challenge, which serves as the organization\u2019s biggest and most relevant event, is typically held around the same time every year by different TACP units stationed all over the world. All proceeds the organization receives are donated to those within the TACP community, including disabled veterans and Gold Star families.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a chance to remember those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice,\u201d said Alberto Reyes, a combat arms instructor with the 2nd ASOS. \u201cEven if you don\u2019t donate to the TACP Association, taking a minute out of your day to remember somebody who has fallen or look into someone who has fallen, TACP or not, is a service on its own.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An integral part of U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, Airmen serving as Tactical Air Control Party members are few and far between, making up only a minuscule percentage of the total Air Force. A small and specialized group, TACP Airmen integrate both surface and air fires, operating in demanding and hostile environments all over the world. TACP Airmen with the 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron fall under the 4th Air Support Operations Group out of Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, which provides direct support to U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) and V Corps.<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Airmen, assigned to the 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron, complete push-ups after participating in the TACP Association 24-Hour Challenge at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 25, 2024. Tactical Air Control Party is one of the smallest but skilled careers in the U.S. Armed Forces. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zoe Y. Tourne)
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\n U.S. Airmen, assigned to the 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron, and family members pay tribute to fallen service members by participating in the TACP Association 24-Hour Challenge at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 25, 2024. The 24-Hour Challenge, which is conducted by Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) units stationed all over the world, is the TACP Association’s largest and most important fundraising event. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zoe Y. Tourne)
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Fighting through blisters, sore muscles and at times, hours of darkness, the group moved continuously for the full 24 hours, completing mile after mile as they looped around the Tower Barracks softball fields. In the final stretch of each lap, participants traveled a path surrounded by fourteen individual memorials, each honoring a named fallen Airman and serving as a grave reminder of the ultimate sacrifices made by the TACP community. Because this specific military community is so small, many of the Airmen taking part in the run knew the fallen Airmen personally, giving the event an elevated level of significance and emotion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a whole spectrum of emotions during the 24-Hour Challenge,\u201d said U.S. Air Force Col. Jeffrey M. Mack, commander of the 4th Air Support Operations Group. \u201cI\u2019ve known a lot of the people that we\u2019re honoring personally, so there is always a feeling of loss, but there is also teamwork and joy because we\u2019re such a close knit group of people and we take care of families.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As the clock ticked towards the 24-hour mark, all runners completed the final mile as a cohesive group, with Mack leading the formation all the way through the finish line. In a culminating act of remembrance, the group completed a series of push-ups at the conclusion of the last mile, each repetition honoring a fallen member of the TACP community. In total, participants completed over 1,800 miles, surpassing the expectations of the event\u2019s organizers. While fundraising was one of the primary purposes of the event, the most important reason – remembering fallen TACP Airmen – was not lost on anyone for the entirety of the 24 hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat goes through my mind as I\u2019m running is all the service members we\u2019ve lost – if they had a choice, they\u2019d be out there with us and they don\u2019t have that option,\u201d said Senior MSgt. Gary Demmons, who is currently assigned to the 2nd ASOS. \u201cThere is pain and a little bit of being uncomfortable, but it\u2019s nothing compared to what our fallen service members gave.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Airmen, assigned to the 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron, walk through the fourteen individual memorials, each honoring a named fallen TACP Airman, during the TACP Association 24-Hour Challenge at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 25, 2024. The 24-Hour Challenge, which is conducted by Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) units stationed all over the world, is the TACP Association’s largest and most important fundraising event. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zoe Y. Tourne)
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\n U.S. Airmen, assigned to 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron, participate in the TACP Association 24-Hour Challenge at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 25, 2024. The 24-Hour Challenge, which is conducted by Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) units stationed all over the world, is the TACP Association’s largest and most important fundraising event. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zoe Y. Tourne)
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1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 A U.S. Airman, assigned to the 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron, carries a TACP flag while participating in the TACP Association 24-Hour Challenge at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 26, 2024. During the 24-Hour Challenge, participants attempt to complete as many miles as possible over a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240657,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-240655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=240655"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240664,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240655\/revisions\/240664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/240657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=240655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=240655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=240655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}