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BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. - Mr. Chhiring Dorje Sherpa, of Nepal, climbed Mount Everest recently with a special flag, a coin and one goal -- to encourage Airmen everywhere, to never quit.
Mr Sherpa, along with fellow climber Mr. Tom Whittaker, the first amputee to summit Mount Everest, will present the U.S. and command flag to Air Force Global Strike Command in front of hundreds of Airmen, here June 27 at 9:30 a.m.
The event is the latest initiative in the command's "Never Quit" initiative aimed at promoting resiliency in Airmen.
Sherpa unfolded the seamlessly woven American-Air Force Global Strike Command flag while at the summit of Mount Everest to pay tribute to the amazing work Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen accomplish on a daily basis, to keep the world safe, said Mr Robi Powers, Founder of American300.
While he brought the flag home, he left the special coin atop Mount Everest.
That single coin had passed through the hands of thousands of Airmen at all of AFGSC's five bases, during the "Never Quit Promise Tour", during which Airmen promised that they would take on the challenge of self-improvement and fulfilling a lifelong dream, one of honor and courage.
They made this promise after hearing testimonies from Tom Whittaker, and military warriors who had overcome extreme challenges to achieve great personal victories.
Some of the mentors who have served as guest speakers at the command's five bases included Olympic and XGames athletes: Sean Colgan, Dan Beery, Mike Schultz, Erin Simmons and Kurt Yaeger, in addition to former military members such as Mad Max Mullen, a former Army ranger, and William ‘Spanky’ Gibson the first above knee amputee to redeploy with his prosthetic to the fronts lines in Iraq among others.
Sherpa, who has climbed Mount Everest 12 times, has a profound love of America and enjoys sharing his experiences to encourage members of the U.S. Armed Forces to overcome challenges they may face, noted Powers.
The guest speakers were organized by Powers and the all volunteer American300 Foundation.
Prepared By- United States Air Force Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs Office
Special Note From American300 - Chhiring Dorje Sherpa is a 'brother' of American300's founder Robi Powers. When we were lucky enough to have Tom Whittaker kick off our year long volunteer effort with Air Force Global Strike Command ... and found out about Greg Child's dropping of the rock from the top of Mt Everest into Whittaker's hand after Tom missed the summit during his second effort on the mountain... we came up with the idea of having Tom pass a special challenge coin around 'the room' during his 'The Promise Tour kick off to the Never Quit Series'. Tom agreed and Chhiring agreed to the effort of taking the coin and flag to the summit to 'seal the deal' for the Airmen of Air Force Global Strike Command. Like all guest speakers and friends of American300 both Tom and Chhiring volunteered in all manners. American300 paid for all shipping costs and the effort was pulled off with no programming funds being involved. American300 Volunteers want to thank all involved for making this another piece of fabric in our on going history of tours for the troops.
Special Note From American300 - Chhiring Dorje Sherpa is a 'brother' of American300's founder Robi Powers. When we were lucky enough to have Tom Whittaker kick off our year long volunteer effort with Air Force Global Strike Command ... and found out about Greg Child's dropping of the rock from the top of Mt Everest into Whittaker's hand after Tom missed the summit during his second effort on the mountain... we came up with the idea of having Tom pass a special challenge coin around 'the room' during his 'The Promise Tour kick off to the Never Quit Series'. Tom agreed and Chhiring agreed to the effort of taking the coin and flag to the summit to 'seal the deal' for the Airmen of Air Force Global Strike Command. Like all guest speakers and friends of American300 both Tom and Chhiring volunteered in all manners. American300 paid for all shipping costs and the effort was pulled off with no programming funds being involved. American300 Volunteers want to thank all involved for making this another piece of fabric in our on going history of tours for the troops.
For more information on Chhiring Dorje Sherpa and Tom Whittaker's visit to Barksdale AFB: www.American300.org
For information on Air Force Global Strike Command visit: www.afgsc.af.mil
Chhiring Dorje Sherpa is highlighted in the new acclaimed book: 'Buried In The Sky' www.buriedinthesky.com
Tom Whittaker had a book written about his life story including the first amputee summit of Everest: www.tomwhittaker.com
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