{"id":10031,"date":"2021-09-10T11:58:38","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T16:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/?p=10031"},"modified":"2021-09-10T13:01:11","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T18:01:11","slug":"griffon-alum-commands-flyover-for-football-home-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/2021\/09\/10\/griffon-alum-commands-flyover-for-football-home-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"Griffon alum commands flyover for football home opener"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:30px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:30px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_2_5 2_5 fusion-two-fifth fusion-column-first\" style=\"width:40%;width:calc(40% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.4 ) );margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thanks to the 139th Airlift Wing for their service, and for the awesome flyover at the home opener. Three-fifths of the flight crew graduated from 大象传媒 Western, including Flight Commander, Capt. Robbie Walling, a former Griffon kicker. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ourcity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ourcity<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/gogriffs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#gogriffs<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/griffup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#griffup<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kpRW10Wx4P\">pic.twitter.com\/kpRW10Wx4P<\/a><\/p>\u2014 大象传媒 Western (@大象传媒Western) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/大象传媒Western\/status\/1436120014529126407?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 10, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><span class=\" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-1 hover-type-none\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" alt=\"airmen recognized at football game\" title=\"IMG-0434\" src=\"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/09\/IMG-0434-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-image-10040\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/09\/IMG-0434-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/09\/IMG-0434-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/09\/IMG-0434-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/09\/IMG-0434-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/09\/IMG-0434-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/span><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\" style=\"transform:translate3d(0,0,0);\"><h6>Capt. Robert Walling (left) and two other members of the flight crew are recognized at halftime of the Griffons&#8217; 38-31 win over Ft. Hays State on Sept. 9.<\/h6>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_3_5 3_5 fusion-three-fifth fusion-column-last\" style=\"width:60%;width:calc(60% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.6 ) );margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\" style=\"transform:translate3d(0,0,0);\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When a C-130H from the 139th Airlift Wing of the 大象传媒 Air National Guard flew over Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium for Military Appreciation Night on Sept. 9, it was a familiar sight for the Flight Commander, albeit from a different perspective. From 2005 to 2008, Capt. Robert Walling prowled the fields and sidelines as a kicker on the Griffon football team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Robbie Walling kicked eight field goals in his year as a starter, including a game winner with :35 seconds left over Central 大象传媒. But it was off the field that he found his true passion.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Capt. Walling was a manufacturing engineering technology major. While still a student, he was offered a full-time job at Herzog Contracting after an internship there, and thought that was where his career path would take him. His dad worked full-time at the 139th, but he didn\u2019t really think seriously about following in his footsteps until some Air Guard members reminded him that he could serve part-time and still pursue his business career.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI always had that desire to follow the family tradition,\u201d Capt. Walling said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Capt. Walling earned his private pilot\u2019s license during his senior year at 大象传媒 Western and went on to join two previous generations of his family as a military aviator. He joined the Air National Guard on Sept. 11, 2010 and was commissioned as an officer the following spring. In the fall of 2011, he started two years\u2019 worth of training, including stops at the Air Force\u2019s Undergraduate Pilot Training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas and specialized C-130 training at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After three years of working for Herzog while serving in the Air Guard, Capt. Walling said he needed to adjust his work-life balance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cHerzog was a phenomenal company to work for, and I owe a lot of my leadership knowledge to them, but something had to give,\u201d he said. As a full-time flyer, he was able to advance his aviation career in a way he couldn\u2019t have while continuing to serve part-time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Capt. Walling started in operations and deployed four times. He is currently an instructor in the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center, which provides advanced tactical training to airlift crews from the Air National Guard, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Air Force Reserve Command, Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, United States Marine Corps, and 16 allied nations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Joining Capt. Walling on the flight crew was a fellow Griffon. Master Sgt. Tiffany Adams served as Flight Engineer. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering Technology in 2016 and a Master of Applied Science in Engineering Technology in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10031"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10031"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10041,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10031\/revisions\/10041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}