Travis honors fallen service members through ruck march

by Senior Airman Madelyn Brown
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

5/22/2014 - TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- More than 300 Golden Bears rucked 6.2 miles Saturday morning, many with 30-pound ruck sacks strapped to their backs, to honor fallen service members and their family members in the fourth annual Gold Star Ruck March.

The event, hosted by the First Sergeants Council, raises funds to support Gold Star Moms as well as the Travis First Sergeants Warmheart Fund.

For Senior Master Sgt. Reny Nunag, 60th Aerial Port Squadron first sergeant, the importance of the symbolic ruck far outweighed any raised funds.

"This was a moment of celebration and remembrance," he said. "The hardest thing to endure as a military member is when we lose a loved one. The most impactful and meaningful part of this event is to show the families that we grieve and celebrate with them."

Just as the event was purposefully scheduled to take place on Armed Forces Day, the host of the event is no coincidence either.

"Our career field has the honor of being tasked specifically in guarding our military's sacred values and ensuring our members also live them," Nunag said. "It seems fitting to have the first sergeants host this event because this is what we are about. People is our business."

Participants of the ruck march had the option of competing in teams or individuals, as well as with or without the 30-pound ruck sacks.

Senior Airman Ashley Stanton, 60th Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron, finished the ruck march with the fastest individual female time of 88 minutes and 18 seconds.

"I trained with a coworker at Peña Adobe Park with 50-pound ruck sacks to prepare for this ruck march," Stanton said.

The last mile proved the most challenging due to the developing blisters on her feet, she said. While Stanton will tell you she's a competitor at heart, what truly motivated was who she was rucking for.

"I try to do the Gold Star Ruck March every year because I lost a couple friends in the initial surge of deployments," she said.

In addition to rucking for those fallen service members, Stanton carried a picture of Airman 1st Class Ronnie James Hayden, a fellow 60th MDTS Airman who died in a hiking accident earlier this month.

To inspire those who have never personally known a service member who has died, Stanton encourages them to seek out their inner patriotism, sense of country and self, the Harlow, North Dakota native said.

"We all serve in the uniform," Stanton said. "You may not know who these fallen service members are, but they are your brothers and sisters. They are our family."