374th Airlift Wing Commander Col Kenneth Moss during his Fini-flight of a C-130J. US military pilots take to the skies and soar one last time alongside wingmen from their unit. Their emotional last day at a unit isn’t just celebrated like a last day at an office. Pilots stick to a tradition that’s as old as the Air Force itself: the final flight, known widely amongst aircrew members as the ‘fini flight.’ The tradition was initially celebrated to accompany milestones in the career of Airmen of all ranks and positions. To find the first documented fini flight, one would have to reach back in history as far as Vietnam, when an aircrew commemorated the completion of 100 missions. Since then, the way final flights have been celebrated has changed, but the sentiments have remained. Traditions such as this are great examples of esprit de corps throughout the Air Force community
The 374th Airlift Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to Fifth Air Force. It is stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is part of Pacific Air Forces. The 374th Airlift Wing is the only airlift wing in PACAF and provides airlift support to all Department of Defense agencies in the Pacific theater of operation. It also provides transport for people and equipment throughout the KantÅ Plain and the Tokyo metropolitan area.
The Wing participates in operations involving air, land and airdrop of troops, equipment, supplies, and support or augment special operations forces, when appropriate. It fields a provisional airlift wing or group headquarters (when required) to command airlift resources as units in support of contingencies or exercises. It also supports assigned, attached, and associate units on Yokota Air Base and satellite installations according to higher headquarters’ direction. The 374th Airlift Wing has never been stationed in the United States.
Video by Tech. Sgt. Mariko Frazee Media Center – Japan
The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
