Child becomes B-52 honorary crew chief

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Katherine Holt
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  An 8-year-old boy from Marshall, Texas, became an honorary B-52 Stratofortess crew chief April 24, here.

Hunter Tomlin, who was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that attacks the body's nerves and tissues, when he was only 3 months old, was given this rare opportunity by a crew chief in the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

"I learned about Hunter a few weeks ago," said Tech. Sgt. Mark Haines, 2 AMXS crew chief. "I decided that I wanted to do something for him, so I got my hands on this and made it happen."

After he had all the details worked out, Haines invited Hunter and his family to Barksdale.

"We didn't tell him where we were going today," said Amanda Tomlin, Hunter's mother. "He was so surprised when we pulled up to the gate."

When Hunter arrived, he was taken to Hangar 1 where he met crew chiefs from the 2nd AMXS and the 307th AMXS to start out his afternoon.

"Hunter has such a positive attitude and is always so cheerful no matter what," said Haines. "I am so happy to be able to do this for him."

That positive attitude stayed with him throughout his visit and it only got better when he was taken into a conference room. In the conference room Hunter was front and center. He was presented with a personalized Airman Battle Uniform, a framed poster of a B-52 signed by crew chiefs, and a special plaque signifying him as a honorary crew chief.

When presented with his personalized ABU, Hunter had only one thing to say.

"Wow."

After the presentation of his uniform, Maj. Karwin Weaver, 307th AMXS commander, presented Hunter with a plaque signifying his appointment to honorary crew chief.

"Being an honorary crew chief is a big deal," said Weaver. "Your job is to make sure all the planes get up in the air and the crew is safe. It is a great honor to present this to you and to have you on our team."

With his uniform and official honorary crew chief status, Hunter was ready to head out to see one of the aircraft that he is responsible for. When he arrived out to the aircraft, crew chiefs met him with a surprise.

His name was placed on the B-52 with the tail number 0015.

"This is a once-in-a-life-time experience," said Tomlin. "We are so happy to be able to bring him out here to do this. This is something he will never forget."