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Three chosen for Thunderbirds

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman John Gordinier
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Three Shaw Airmen were recently selected to become part of the U.S. Air Force premier air demonstration team, the Thunderbirds.

Tech. Sgt. Michael Jensen, 55th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, Staff Sgt. Jory Cyr, 77th AMU and Staff Sgt. Taite Mahosky, 55th AMU, have been chosen to join the elite team that represents the Air Force.

“I feel elated about being selected for the Thunderbirds,” Sgt. Jensen said. “I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a little kid.

“I think my 8-year-old son is even more excited than I am,” he said. “He knows who the Thunderbirds are and is already asking me for (souvenir) pencils and pictures of the Thunderbirds to take to school.”

“I’m excited and looking forward to new opportunities,” Sgt. Mahosky said. “I wanted to join the Thunderbirds because of the prestige they have. I consider it an honor to be able to represent the Air Force worldwide.”

All three Airmen are crew chiefs and they feel pretty good about their job in the Air Force.

“I love being a crew chief,” Sgt. Jensen said. “I like the opportunity to be able to exercise my hands and brain, which this job does plenty of that. There are some days when I get frustrated, but I think every job has that and I don’t let those bad days get me down.”

“The things I like about my job are: I get to work outside; I work with top-notch mechanics and my career has a large amount of diversity,” Sgt. Mahosky said.

The Thunderbirds are comprised of more than 130 enlisted personnel from 25 career fields and 12 commissioned officers. Enlisted members have a three-year controlled tour with the Thunderbirds at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and team members can travel anywhere from 200 to 250 days per year for air shows.

“The Thunderbirds do travel a lot and my family understands what duties come with this job,” Sgt. Cyr said. “My family is very supportive of my career and we see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We look forward to the challenge.”