Flying Razorback Flashback - Securing Air Force One
Then-Airman 1st Class Tom Judkins, left, then-Capt. Buddy Acoach, middle, and Sgt. John Connally, pose with Air Force One on the flightline at what was then dubbed the 188th Tactical Fighter Group’s Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Fort Smith, Ark., May 20, 1975. The Airmen were all members of what was then called the 188th Weapons System Security Flight (now 188th Security Forces Squadron). They assisted in providing security during President Gerald Ford's visit to Fort Chaffee, Ark., in support of the Vietnamese Airlift. The president gave a speech in which he said that the airlift and plan to settle refugees throughout the country was "the right thing to do." The airlift changed the face of Fort Smith, and the state of Arkansas. Some 188th Airmen can trace their family history back to the thousands of Vietnamese refugees who came through Fort Chaffee as part of this effort. (File photo by 188th Public Affairs)