A special tactics chief master sergeant with the 24th Special Operations Wing reflects on the life of USAF SSgt. Dylan Elchin, a combat controller assigned to the 26th Special Tactics Squadron, at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, on Jan. 24, 2019. Special operations airmen are slated to undertake an 830-mile ruck march in honor of Elchin and other special tactics airmen who were killed in action after Sept. 11, 2001. Air Force photo by SrA. Joseph Pick.
Twenty special operations airmen will undertake an 11-day, 830-mile ruck from JB San Antonio-Lackland, Texas to Hurlburt Field, Fla., in memory of late combat controller SSgt. Dylan Elchin and the 19 other special tactics airmen killed in combat since Sept. 11, 2001.
The ruck will begin before dawn on Friday and is slated to end on the afternoon of March 4, according to a 24th Special Operations Wing release.
Ten two-person teams — all composed of special tactics airmen — will take part with all participants completing the initial 4.7 miles together. The teams will alternate rucking an average 12 of miles per leg for a combined 70 miles per day.
Planning marches for special tactics airmen who are KIA is a tradition within this segment of the Air Force Special Operations Command community, according to the wing. This year’s iteration of the event is the fifth since 2009.
People can track the march and get live updates by visiting http://raceday.me/v/75ea11.