Airman support the Presidential Inauguration

  • Published
  • By Lois Walsh
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  This is the third story in a series about Eglin Airmen who supported the inauguration.

Two Airmen from the 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron had unique experiences recently in support of the Presidential Inauguration. 

Senior Airmen LaRose Bacani and Angela Espiritu are two supply troops who work material management here. And while Airman Espiritu is familiar with warehouses, she literally ran one with three others for six months prior to the inauguration. The Airman received everything from cameras to tables and chairs as she turned the Mary Switzer Building into a functioning office area. 

Airman Espiritu left May 1 and spent six months working with joint service personnel as they set the building up to house a mini inauguration committee. Her eight-hour workday gave her free time on the weekends to tour the D.C. area and volunteer as part of a clean-up crew at the Vietnam Memorial.

"I was excited to be chosen for this, and would do it again," the Airman said. 

But, the next time, Airman Espiritu hopes she's able to stay for the actual event. She spent Jan. 20 watching the inauguration on television after her return here mid-November. She did bring back a special souvenir, a coin from Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe, Jr., the chairman of the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee. 

While Airman Espiritu was home watching, Airman Bacani was trying to keep warm on the parade route. The Airman was tasked as an escort for the Junior Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps from Klein Collins High School, Spring, Texas. 

When Airman Bacani reported in on Jan. 5, she spent the next few weeks in massive briefings to learn the parade route, escort duties and security details. The day of the inauguration, the Airman met her charges at 5 a.m. in the staging area. One of her instructions to the students was "no joking with the secret service." 

"We were supposed to form up at 13:30 because the parade would start at 3 p.m., but we were told to form up early and marched to the merge point where we merged with the floats but the parade didn't start until 4:40pm; it was so cold," Airman Bacani said. 

The Airman said the best part was walking beside the students. 

"I actually got a chance to salute the president and see his family, the vice president and other people on the reviewing stand," she said.