92nd ARW says 'farewell' to the Fairchild Flyer

Photo By Capt. Aaron Moshier | Fairchild Times, published Friday, May 14, 1982. "Hyperbarics ease ailments." (Courtesy Photo)  

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES

10.24.2018

Story by Staff Sgt. Mackenzie Mendez 

92nd Air Refueling Wing

After 70 years of gracing the mailboxes of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing’s active duty, civilian and retiree populations, the Fairchild Flyer newspaper will appear on the shelves for one final time, Oct. 26.

Since the paper’s inception, hundreds of different public affairs professionals have put pen to paper to highlight what matters most: our people, our mission and our local community.

First appearing as the Spokane Bomber Views on Friday, April 2, 1948, the first base paper highlighted scheduled beautification to base, Army Day and a mission to Japan to be accomplished by the 325th Squadron.

Since the newspaper’s initial debut, the enterprise has undergone four name changes, highlighted numerous missions and created a sense of connectedness with the surrounding community.

Excerpts from the Spokane Bomber Views, Vol. 1, No. 1.

Cuisine In The Clouds – Lt. Ray Houseman

Gather ‘round all ye fly boy gourmets who have been moaning pitifully about being deprived of that good ole home cookin’ while up in the wild blue. You will be deliriously happy to know that no longer will you have to partake of those tasty, dainty and tantalizingly delicious sandwiches while in flight. A new order (no, not short-order) has come into being. Major Earle L. Osborne, Wing Food Service Supervisor, has given the word that air crews will receive an additional and very welcome piece of equipment. This new apparatus is a miniature kitchen which contains six (6) thoroughly cooked hot meals. The food is prepared on the ground and then placed inside the unique “in-flight kitchen” in six individual portions. The only manual labor involved is plugging the cord attachment into the plane’s electrical system just two hours before deciding to put on the feed bag. Two hours may appear ridiculously long to just heat food, but there is a cunning madness in the method.

New Face for Base –

Keeping abreast of other locales within the inland empire the base will shed the drab unsightly clutches of old man winter by undergoing a face lifting operation. This beautifying surgery will be performed through the planting of a great variety of shrubbery, bushes, flowers, new grass, etc.

A Report To Our Readers –

“Bomber Views” makes its debut this week and the people who have anything to do with publishing it hope that readers will like the new and larger paper. It is published by Mr. W. A. Wilbur of the Davenport Times-Tribune, Davenport, Wash., as a civilian enterprise in the interest of personnel at Spokane Air force Base.

“Bomber views” will be an eight page, five column, tabloid size paper. This paper is not an official publication of this base, however all material for it will be release through the Public Information Office.

All personnel at this base are invited and urged to submit material to the PIO for publication in Bomber Views. To make this paper the kind that you will eagerly look forward to seeing each week, it must contain news, human interest stories, feature stories and good pictures. It is impossible to get these stories without your help. There are many interesting stories concerning the past war, the Air Force and your job that have never been told. It may be a feature article or merely an amusing anecdote. Perhaps it’s something new that is currently happening on base that might be overlooked by our regular news gatherers. Be sure it is submitted… just type it out and send it to the Public Information Office. Your contribution will be appreciated

• Date Taken: 10.24.2018
• Date Posted: 12.13.2018 11:28
• Story ID: 303404
• Location: FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, WASHINGTON, US