Team Offutt, Air Force recruits take to the field at Omaha Mammoths football game

  • Published
  • By 55th Wing Public Affairs
OMAHA, Neb. --  Active duty members from Offutt Air Force Base along with future Air Force members became part of the festivities included in the Omaha Mammoths football game played Nov. 5 at TD Ameritrade Park as part of a military appreciation night.

The night kicked off with Air Force Capt. Jeremiah from the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron leading the Omaha Mammoths onto the field with the American flag. Following that, a team of five honor guard members from U. S. Strategic Command presented the colors at mid-field while Tech. Sgt. William Thomas III, an Air Force recruiter assigned to the 343rd Recruiting Squadron at Offutt AFB, sung the National Anthem.

"I've sung at a lot of retirement ceremony's but that is the first football game that I've done," Thomas said. "To be out there on the 50-yard-line singing [the National Anthem] was amazing."

At halftime, 15 Air Force recruits marched onto the field where they participated in a ceremonial swearing in conducted by U. S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen Phillips, the 343rd Recruiting Squadron commander. The ceremony concluded with boisterous applause from the crowd.

Thomas said events like this help raise community awareness for Air Force recruiting and gives the recruits who are currently in the Air Force's Delayed Entry Program a chance to bond prior to enlisting.

"I think it really gives them a sense of belonging before they even get to basic training," Thomas said. "They get to see the camaraderie and teamwork that we have in the Air Force."

The event was a win-win for Air Force recruiting and the Mammoths who went on to defeat the Boston Brawlers by a score of 10-8.