Airmen Creating Legacy at Airmen Leadership School Published July 29, 2024 By Senior Airman Raisa Christie 319th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The Etchberger Airmen Leadership School underwent a mural project constructed by Airmen assigned to the 319th Reconnaissance Wing from various career fields. The project was initiated in 2022 after the ALS leadership team presented the idea of highlighting the Grand Forks AFB mission through renaming ALS classroom flights to the 319th Reconnaissance Wing leadership. “The ALS classrooms were previously utilized as the chiefs flight and first sergeants flight. From there, the ALS team wanted to create a legacy, leaving something better than how we found it,” said Technical Sgt. Newington Tamaali, an ALS instructor from the 319th Force Support Squadron. “Creating a legacy is a team effort that branches into the units who brought the vision to life when honoring heritage.” The mural reveal was held on July 2, 2024, at the ALS school where the Grand Forks AFB community gathered to view and congratulate the artists. The school auditorium, named Lima Site 85, bestows a mural of the honored Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger that was hand drawn by Technical Sgt. Robert Carter, a non-commissioned officer in command of the 319th Fitness Center. The mural symbolizes how Etchberger conducted a top-secret mission providing radar intel at Lima Site 85 during the Vietnam war. The opposite side of the wall displays a mural which depicts his mission during his time in the Air Force. The mural was painted by six Airmen from the radar airfield weather systems shop assigned to the 319th Operational Support Squadron. The team, led by Technical Sgt. Connor Schlegel, committed two weeks of planning and consecutive painting. The mural in the Cyber Flight was painted by Airmen assigned to the 319th Communication Squadron led by Master Sgt. Patrick van Winkle. The team of nine dedicated 107 hours of planning, designing and painting. The design is painted to feel like the inside of a circuit board which resembles the 319th CS operational methods to power electronic essentials for the 319th mission. The Hawk Flight was designed to reflect the 319th Reconnaissance Wing mission, completed by a team of seven Airmen. The classroom consists of a 3D-printed R-Q4 aircraft mounted on a wall, metal AFSC badges fixed to another wall, and a motorized rotating globe installed from the ceiling. Similar to the other groups, the Hawk team dedicated 83 hours of planning and creating to redesign the flight. At the ALS classroom flight reveal, U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Carl Vogel, the command chief of the 319th Reconnaissance Wing, expressed that he was impressed by the sheer pride he felt when he walked into the renewed rooms. “It made more sense to leadership that the walls be designed to make them more applicable to what our airmen do daily,” said Vogel. “When we walk through the rooms and see how the murals apply to the overarching mission of the 319th Reconnaissance Wing, we see our pride in what we do, where we work, and where we learn.”