Tuskegee Airman speaks to Travis ALS graduates

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Eilene Nielsen
  • Sgt Paul P. Ramoneda Airman Leadership School
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  An Airman Leadership School graduation is a special time to celebrate the accomplishments of the graduates and welcome them into their new role as supervisors. 

There was an ALS graduation March 23 – one of seven held every year. Although each graduation is a monumental event – the largest night-time celebration held at the Delta Breeze Club with more than 400 guests – last week’s graduation banquet was historical for all in attendance. 

The guest speaker, retired Lt. Col. James Warren, was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen. 

He served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam flying 173 combat missions. He had the honor of being the navigator for the “Hanoi Taxi,” bringing some of the first prisoners of war home from Vietnam. He retired from his Air Force career after 35 years at Travis and lives in Vacaville. 

Colonel Warren spoke to the ALS students on their first day of class and inspired them to look into some of the history that he spoke of. 

The students then set forth to plan a presentation to honor his experiences in the Air Force. 

“It was definitely nice to hear from one of the Tuskegee Airmen,” said Senior Airman Adam Crockett, 60th Contracting Squadron. “What was cool about ALS is its diversity. They make sure to mix you up with people from different career fields and backgrounds. Through diversity we were able to come together and form a better team.” 

The presentation depicted an event from his published book entitled Tuskegee Airmen Mutiny At Freeman Field, where a group of Tuskegee pilots entered and refused to leave an Officer’s Club that had been restricted to white officers. 

Then, the students acted out another of Colonel Warren’s experiences when he witnessed the violence during the race riots at Travis in the 1970s. 

To wrap up the presentation, the students demonstrated where the Air Force is today with complete integration and how we focus on the mission and not the differences of our members. 

They paid tribute to the efforts made by Colonel Warren and others to further the advancement of equality. 

“I think seeing him, knowing he went through that — he was so inspiring,” said Senior Airman Roheem Moore, 60th Surgical Operations Squadron. “To have lived through [what the Air Force used to be], it opened our eyes to appreciate how the Air Force is today.” 

Near the end of the evening, Colonel Warren spoke to the graduates advising them to know themselves and have vision for where they are going so they may lead their subordinates. 

He gave examples of strong and weak leaders he had seen and how to learn from these examples to lead others well. 

The students of Class 06-C were honored to have Colonel Warren at the Sgt Paul P. Ramoneda Airman Leadership School graduation banquet.