Davis Monthan Air Force Base

Our educational tour this year was at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, which dates back to 1927.  It was named after two pilots from WWII.  Our former neighbor, Ivan Lewis, retired from the Air Force in late 2016 and moved back to Tucson to work as a contractor at DM. 

 Before we could even take the tour, all of us had to submit our names, Social Security numbers, date of birth and address a week ahead of time.  Thankfully, none of us were deemed "risky" and the guard at the gate let us pass through.

 It was a gorgeous day as Ivan led us to the hangar where we would be able to watch teams being trained on how to load weapons on the A-10 planes.

We behaved ourselves, especially after looking at this warning on the cement floor.  At our age, we are too old to do much horsing around anyway.

 None of the weapons in this area were activated, thank goodness.  We all stayed behind the red line as the airmen went about their business.

 It takes two men to load the bombs, one drives the small vehicle while his assistant steadies the weapon.  Teamwork is essential in loading and securing each weapon.

As we passed behind the plane, Roberta pointed out the beautiful American flag hanging right above it.  What a privilege it is for us to be Americans and support all of our armed forces.

 Ivan, our gracious tour guide for the day, took time to further explain some of the ammunition loaded on to the A-10s.  Interestingly, the A-10's are the only aircraft designed around the 30 mm rotary cannon, which can spit out an enormous amount of fire power in a short amount of time.  The pilot is protected by a titanium box.

 Afterwards, we sauntered outside to view what Ivan referred to as "the dragon".  This unique and odd-looking machine does resemble a dragon.  It's function is to load new ammunition while sucking out the used shells simultaneously.

 This is a photo of the sign painted on the side of the dragon.  Cute, huh?!

This was one busy place.  We spotted lots of fighter jets coming in after their morning flights.

As we left, we passed by the "fighter on a stick", a local landmark at the base.  Thanks for the informative tour, Ivan!