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On Nearly Cloudless Day, Gen. Gjede Deluged by Showers"
VIENNA, Ohio -- Brig. Gen. Michael F. Gjede's last day as commander of the 910th Airlift Wing was much celebrated Wednesday as he navigated his last flight and returned, like the coach of the winning Super Bowl team, to be doused with water and champagne.The flight aboard a C-130 Hercules at the Youngstown U.S. Air Reserve Station took off and returned in perfect weather, clear skies, little wind and temperatures in the low 80s.By early afternoon, after he had changed to a dry uniform, Gjede and his wife, Jerlynn, rode in limousine rented by members of his command to say good-bye and thank-you to the members of his command at several points on base.In honor of his last day of duty, the air towers at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport and Cleveland Hopkins used the call sign "Gjede zero one" as the C-130 flew to Sandusky, turned around at Cedar Point and returned home.Gjede in the navigator's post in the cockpit of the C-130 Hercules on which he flew his last mission.Before a full complement of reporters in a briefing room at the 910th, Trumbull County Commissioner Dan Polivka presented Gjede with a resolution honoring his career of 36-plus years, the last 6 1/2 years as commander of the air base. "The highlight of my career was being here," Gjede responded, repeating that he and his wife will remain here and work with SOAR (Save Our Air Reserve) to keep the base open as Congress studies which military and naval facilities to close in the 2005 BRAC round."The weekend warrior is long gone in the Air Force Reserve," Gjede briefed reporters. Some 500 members of his command of 1,400 reservists have been called to active duty, many of them supporting the U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then the reporters boarded the C-130 to record the general's last flight. His crew members were pilot Maj. J.D. Williams of Youngstown, co-pilot Capt. Jeff Prochnow of Howland, flight engineer Staff Sgt. Jonathan Ansell of Greenville, Pa., and flight master Command Master Sgt. Timothy J. Motika of Hubbard.Once the C-130 took off, reporters could see northeastern Ohio from 6,000 feet at 270 knots -- the farms, residential developments, reservoirs and superhighways -- that nowhere was there an area untouched by civilization. The plane flew just south of downtown Cleveland where Terminal Tower, KeyCorp's headquarters building and the sports complexes for the Browns and Indians could be made out through the portals.Freighters and pleasure craft in Lake Erie reflected the sun. At 11:40 the C-130 banked right and turned around to return. Reporters, photographers and TV cameramen took turns visiting the cockpit and getting a much better view than that available through the circular portals.The plane touched down at 12:03 and five minute later reporters exited through the rear hatch to a crowd of 100 reservists and civilians on hand to welcome the general back. It was an open secret that he would be greeted by base fire department hoses and the three fire engines were clearly visible from the cockpit.The door to the cockpit opened, Gjede taking a few seconds to emerge. As he did, Col. Anna Schultz, commander of the maintenance division, greeted him with "Hello, Sir" and aimed the first of three hoses that saturated his clothes.Thoroughly soaked -- and grinning broadly -- Gjede took a few steps to meet his successor, Col. Timothy Thomson, who promptly sprayed him with Gran Spumante."This is a kind of tradition we have the Air Force," Gjede told reporters as he took their last questions, commenting, "It was a great flight, perfect for what we are doing. We have a great bunch of people here. I'll get up tomorrow morning and I won't know what to do."Moving off the runway to the sidewalk leading to the a building, the general shook hands with the men, hugged the women and exchanged kisses on the cheek. His wife, thinking it safe to greet him, went up to kiss him.As they proceeded up the sidewalk, Gjede's executive officer, Capt. Kelly Warren, sprayed a bottle of Gran Spumante at her -- most missed -- as she said, "I didn't want you to feel left out, Jerlynn."As the group proceeded the final few yards to enter the building, everyone kept his distance from the Gjedes -- with good reason. On the roof above the entrance was an officer with a large orange cooler, the kind athletic teams use to chill water and Gatorade.He was premature in turning the cooler over and most of the water missed Gjede as Mrs. Gjede asked, in feigned anger, his identity."