Vance Security Forces celebrate National Police Week

  • Published
  • By Joe B. Wiles
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The 71st Security Forces Squadron celebrated National Police Week with .50-caliber machine gun rounds, a candle light vigil and a memorial retreat ceremony with law enforcement agencies from throughout the local area. 

National Police Week, initiated by President Kennedy in 1962, was celebrated May 10-16 this year. 

"The men and women of the 71st SFS took time to commemorate our brethren around the world who made the ultimate sacrifice for public safety," said the 71 SFS commander, Maj. L. Michelle Stringer. 

The week began with a reveille at the base flag pole May 11. Later that day Security Forces members participated in the Special Olympics' Torch Run from the main gate to Hennessy, Okla., a distance of more than 18 miles. 

Throughout the week, dog-handler teams from regional law enforcement agencies came on base to perform certification training in high-risk traffic stops and other law enforcement activities. 

A candle light vigil was held May 12 in the base chapel in memory of law enforcement officers who have given their life serving. 

Members of the 71st SFS joined officers from the Enid Police Department at the Enid PD firing range May 14 for a fun-shoot. Enid officers got to live-fire various Air Force machine guns, including a .50-caliber and Security Forces ran the training course at the firing range. 

A food drive was conducted throughout the week, resulting in a pickup truck full of food for the "Our Daily Bread" soup kitchen in Enid. 

Students from Eisenhower Elementary School on base were treated to demonstrations and static displays from the Security Forces, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Vance Fire Department May 15. 

Trooper Lon Wise, with the OHP bomb squad, demonstrated the Remotec ANDROS F6A bomb robot's delicate touch by letting it shake hands with the students. The $170,000 robot has five on-board cameras, two shot-gun like disrupters for disabling bombs and a speaker-microphone system that allows the operator to communicate during hostage situations. 

Troopers Eric Stacy and John Girtin showed the students their Bell OH-58 helicopter used for man-hunts, traffic control and rescue operations. The helicopter is equipped with an infrared system, a NightSun spotlight and a Global Positioning System. 

Police Week ended at Vance with a retreat ceremony May 15, Peace Officers Memorial Day, in honor of the selfless sacrifice of those who wore the law enforcement uniform. 

"According to a study by the University of Texas at San Antonio, a U.S. law enforcement officer gives his or her life every 57 hours," said Col. Richard Murphy, the 71st Flying Training Wing vice commander, during the retreat ceremony. "This is not something we should ever forget." 

The retreat ended with a flyover by T-6A Texan IIs from the 8th Flying Training Squadron 

Also attending the retreat were officers from the police departments of Enid, Fairfax and Blackwell, the Garfield County Sheriff's department and the Department of Corrections.