Special visitor tours Vance flying operations Published April 3, 2013 VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Saliman Bachilly-Redd, a 12 year old from New York, had never seen an Air Force base. When he came to visit his aunt, Yvonne Lewis-Odom, that changed in a big way. Saliman was visiting Enid during spring break with his adopted mother, Lewis-Odom's sister. He has always had an interest in the Air Force and airplanes and wanted to see where his aunt worked. Lewis-Odom runs the Demand Reduction office with the 71st Medical Operations Squadron at Vance. She reached out to the 71st Operations Group for help, hoping Saliman could get a tour of the flying operations here. The flying community responded in a big way. Capt. Tom Bender, 71st Operations Support Squadron, took the lead, and with the help of Maj. Scott Dunn and Maj. Adam Benjamin, spent March 26 making Saliman's dream come true. Saliman, his mother and Lewis-Odom got a close-up look at the flight line, including life support, the Vance Fire Station, the radar approach control and air traffic control tower. His tour visited aerospace physiology, a T-1 Jayhawk simulator and finally, the military working dog kennel. Saliman had a grand time according to Lewis-Odom. "We were treated like royalty," she said. "He even did a school report on his visit when he got back home." The 71st OG put special effort into Saliman's tour because he has overcome many difficulties, yet has an attitude that keeps him striving for excellence, said Bender, the tour organizer. According to Lewis-Odom, Saliman was born with a syndrome that connected his limbs with webbing. He has undergone 15 surgeries to give him mobility, with the help of prostheses. And although his speech is a bit impaired, he is outgoing, fearless and very smart, said his aunt.