Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday spoke to Guardsmen and Reservists gathered at Selfridge ANGB, Mich., singling out for praise the various units and services represented, including the 127th “Air” Wing, per his printed remarks. He hinted that it was an Air National Guard F-16 that put paid to al Qaeda chieftain Abu Musab al Zarqawi last month, when he mentioned the efforts of the 127th Wing’s F-16s and C-130s. “You’ve placed duty ahead of convenience, and service above self-interest,” Cheney told the 250 plus crowd. (Cheney also pinned a Purple Heart upon Air National Guard Combat Weatherman MSgt. Henry G. Christle Jr.—see the photo caption.)
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing helped save 11 airplane crash survivors off the coast of Florida on May 12. The Reserve Airmen were flying an HC-130J Combat King II and an HH-60W Jolly Green II on a routine training flight when a Coast Guard call diverted…