Airmen & Family Readiness Center

Wyatt Waters painted the pride of our base today, the C-17 Globemaster III, surrounded by the Airmen his painting will support. He was commissioned by the Airmen Family Relief Fund as a fundraising opportunity to provide much-needed support to our Airmen when times are tough. Wyatt said he was excited to visit the base and to be a part of this project. He has a strong history of military service in his family including his father and four uncles.

His father was ground crew, akin to our modern day Crew Chief, on Cargo aircraft in Army Air Corps during WW2 serving in Northern Africa. Although he never spoke about it much, Wyatt later learned his father earned the bronze star for his actions. As a farmer, his father was recruited for ground crew for his mechanical knowledge from working on tractors. The problem was, he worked on a mule farm! As luck would have it, while deployed to Italy, it was a “mule war” since tanks weren’t able to move over the mountains!

The Airmen Family Relief Fund is excited for the opportunity to host Wyatt as well as the chance to continue incorporating local artists in capturing our base’s history. Wyatt captured an active flightline on a beautiful sunny day that included mission preparation and aircraft maintenance. He even captured Doug “The Machine” Spitchley, the Maintenance Group’s most senior Crew Chief at 61, carrying supplies to his crew at the plane.

Prints will sell for $120 and will be available starting this fall at the link below. Contact [email protected] with any questions.