Photo By Senior Airman Michael Killian | U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Tyler Tribble, an aero repair technician assigned to the 6th...... read more read more
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MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – The 6th Maintenance Squadron unveiled a hand-painted mural of their squadron patch June 24 in hangar four at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.
U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Tyler Tribble, an aero repair technician assigned to the 6th MXS, painstakingly painted this piece over two years and presented it to U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Shae Gee, 6th Air Refueling Wing command chief, in front of a crowd of other 6th MXS members.
Tribble spent 120 total hours painting the mural, not only to encourage future airmen to become more interested in MacDill and Air Force history, but to inspire future artists to make their own creations and display them on unit’s empty walls.
“I was originally asked to come up with something that would represent the squadron, and what better choice than the patch,” Tribble said. “I built onto [the squadron patch] with my own artistic flair and added some nods to historical MacDill aircraft.”
This isn’t Tribble’s first rodeo. He’s done several artistic projects such as painting a maintenance mural during his first deployment, painting the side of a bus as part of a safety campaign, and painting personal projects including themes like Star Wars, Batman, and mythology.
Tribble admitted he had self-doubt before he began painting the squadron’s mural.
“I painted four coats onto the base layer, and even though I knew it was getting better, I was not initially happy with It.” he said. “My drive to make a piece that would not only look good, but be an honest representation of how I feel was what kept me going through long days.”
U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. John Bowden, a unit program manager assigned to the 6th MXS, worked with Tribble on putting up history placards next to his mural as a way to give more context to the piece and contribute to Tribble’s goal of bringing more awareness to the squadron’s history.
“I was impressed at how he accepted the task so long ago and owned it,” Bowden said. “Being swamped with work constantly, he spent his lunch hours and sometimes after work chipping away at the task. He was extremely methodical and expressed a desire to reignite some pride in the airmen in the squadron.”
Tribble’s artistic vision for the mural included changing the cartoon design of the squadron patch into a more photorealistic one, as well as painting historical aircraft in the clouds all over the mural.
“I did some research on prior aircraft that used to call MacDill home, and the ones that spent significant time here were painted in,” Tribble said. “The only plane on there that didn’t call MacDill home was the BC-1, and that was the plane that Col. Lesley MacDill was flying when he died. The base is named after him, so I had to put his aircraft in there.”
Tribble dedicated countless hours into the mural, not just to improve morale and make this squadron’s room look more alive, but as a testament to MacDill’s history. He hopes to inspire future generations of airmen to not only be more knowledgeable of the actions that got us to where we are today, but to accept the baton and make their own creations highlighting the history and mission of the base.
| Date Taken: | 06.24.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2022 16:07 |
| Story ID: | 423869 |
| Location: | TAMPA, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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