193rd SOW use ordinary training to recognize 9/11’s extraordinary sacrifices

In a military formation flight embargoed until it departed Middletown, airmen from the 193rd Special Operations Wing took off today from Harrisburg Air National Guard Base – Harrisburg International Airport – for a routine training exercise with a profound extra purpose.

“To honor the memory of the nearly 3,000 innocent victims who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and the first responders who risked their own lives to save others, the wing will showcase the resiliency of the American Spirit by flying mass formation, low-altitude training flights that will be visible throughout the greater Central Pennsylvania area,” Major Travis Mueller explained in a press release.

If you’re reading this, the planes were already in the sky along a route that passed by Fort Indiantown Gap, Middletown, Lewisberry, Dillsburg, Shippensburg, and the West Shore.

The low-altitude route was used to practice the mission sets for the wing’s MC-130J Commando II, a special operations workhorse that can perform tactical roles such as infiltration, exfiltration, air drop, mountainous low level flying, airfield seizure, runway agnostic operations, night vision operations, leaflet drops, surveillance, mass airlift, and forward area refueling.

The flight was a tribute to American resolve and capability, Mueller said, and was flown in accordance with Air Force regulations.

“The Airmen of the 193rd SOW fly their missions today to hone their skillsets while honoring the fallen of September 11th, 2001, and those making the ultimate sacrifice in the Global War on Terrorism,” said Mueller.