Page 4 - Wings 5-22-15

4 Desert Wings May 22, 2015

FLTS, from 1 Air Force photograph by Rebecca Amber

In 1976 the unit was transferred from Fritz Baker, a contractor who worked on a Speckled Trout from 1987 to 1996 took a walk through the Trout following the inactivation ceremony
Headquarters Command to Air Force Sys- with Senior Master Sgt. Tony Fretta, 412th Flight Test Squadron superintendent.
tems Command at Andrews Air Force Base,
Md., and organized as Detachment 1 of the
4950th Test Wing. In 1992 the unit was trans-
ferred to Edwards AFB and initial plans were
to integrate the Trout into the 452nd Flight
Test Squadron.

Gen. Merrill McPeak, chief of staff of the
Air Force, made the decision to make the
unit into its own squadron, the 412th FLTS,
and even designed the unit patch on a nap-
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The inactivation ceremony culminated 58
years of service to Air Force chiefs of staff
for the Speckled Trout.

After the ceremony, guests were invited
to tour the inside of the KC-135. Fritz Bak-
er, a contractor who worked on a Speckled
Trout from 1987 to 1996, walked through
with Senior Master Sgt. Tony Fretta.

“[The ceremony] brought a tear to my
eye because I’m attached to the Trout,” said
Baker. “I found that the people working on
the aircraft were amongst the best people
that I ever ran into; they were absolutely
superb, dedicated like you wouldn’t believe
and I’m sure it’s still the same way.”

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agree with Baker.

“The biggest thing really is the people,”
said Davis. “The plane is neat and it’s cool
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on it, but it’s the people of this unit that are
absolutely incredible.”

ANTELOPE VALLEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND MASTER CHORALE

David Newby, Artistic Director

2014 | 2015 SEASON AT THE AVC PERFORMING ARTS THEATRE

ANTELOPE VALLEY COLLEGE | 3041 WEST AVENUE K | LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA

A GERMAN REQUIEM

Johannes Brahms, Ein Deutches Requiem
Steve Dobrogosz, Lux Aeterna
Master Chorale and Orchestra combine with the Antelope Valley
College Concert Choir for Brahms’s touching German Requiem.
Inspired by the deaths of his mother and his mentor Robert
Schumann, this masterwork explores grief, comfort, and the circle
of life. Also on the program is Dobrogosz’s ethereal Lux Aeterna.

May 30, 2015 | 8 pm CURTAIN RAISER | 7 pm

PAT Tickets: General $20 | Senior, Military, AVC Staff $18
Youth (under 18), AVC Student $10

AVC PERFORMING ARTS THEATRE BOX OFFICE: (661) 722-6580'PURCHASE TICKE TS ONLINE: tickets.avc.edu