Baseball Guru
05-26-2004, 11:03 AM
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nym/news/nym_news.jsp?ymd=20040525&content_id=752219&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp
05/25/2004 8:42 PM ET
Pitcher airs things out with Air Force
By Marissa Rega / Special to MLB.com
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2004/05/25/OLH5MOfd.jpg
Al Leiter takes flight during exercises at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey on Monday.
NEW YORK - Al Leiter joined the United States Air Force, complete with his own uniform, as a boom operator for nearly six hours Monday afternoon at the McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.
As part of the "Job Swap" program among the Air Force, Major League Baseball and the Mets, Leiter flew on a KC-10 Tanker Aircraft and helped refuel F-15 Strike Eagles off North Carolina's coast.
"A boom operator is an important part of the Air Force," said Leiter, a New Jersey native who grew up not too far from McGuire. "Refueling planes in mid-air enables them to keep flying without having to land or divert to another location to refuel. It's especially important the way the world is today."
Leiter worked with Senior Airman Chardo Richardson, a 23-year-old Gulfport, Miss. native, on the flight. On the flip side of the swap," Richardson will take batting practice with the Mets at Shea Stadium on June 22 before the 7:10 contest versus the Cincinnati Reds.
"Al did great in the air," Richardson said. "As an athlete, he has super hand-eye coordination, and that is what you need when you refuel another plane in mid-air."
Leiter, a big supporter of the military, donated $25,000 last year to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, an organization that finances scholarship bonds for children of servicemen and federal agents killed in the line of duty. He is very supportive of the military, publicly and privately, and was an active participant in Sunday's Military Appreciation Day at Shea Stadium.
"The planes came right next to us; it was an amazing day," Leiter said. "After being with these guys for a short amount of time, you have even more respect for what they do."
"We're an all-volunteer Air Force," said Col. JJ Jackson, of the 305th Air Mobility Wing. "A lot of the men and women you see here have sacrificed an awful lot just doing their daily jobs. As volunteers, we don't expect recognition, but when you get it, especially in this way, it reminds us of what a great country we're serving."
Later that day, Leiter spoke to approximately 300 enlistees' children at a school off the base.
"I told the kids that because of my profession, sometimes people regard us as heroes," he said. "I just told them that, in my mind, their mothers and fathers were the real heroes and not us. We just play a simple game of baseball."
05/25/2004 8:42 PM ET
Pitcher airs things out with Air Force
By Marissa Rega / Special to MLB.com
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2004/05/25/OLH5MOfd.jpg
Al Leiter takes flight during exercises at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey on Monday.
NEW YORK - Al Leiter joined the United States Air Force, complete with his own uniform, as a boom operator for nearly six hours Monday afternoon at the McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.
As part of the "Job Swap" program among the Air Force, Major League Baseball and the Mets, Leiter flew on a KC-10 Tanker Aircraft and helped refuel F-15 Strike Eagles off North Carolina's coast.
"A boom operator is an important part of the Air Force," said Leiter, a New Jersey native who grew up not too far from McGuire. "Refueling planes in mid-air enables them to keep flying without having to land or divert to another location to refuel. It's especially important the way the world is today."
Leiter worked with Senior Airman Chardo Richardson, a 23-year-old Gulfport, Miss. native, on the flight. On the flip side of the swap," Richardson will take batting practice with the Mets at Shea Stadium on June 22 before the 7:10 contest versus the Cincinnati Reds.
"Al did great in the air," Richardson said. "As an athlete, he has super hand-eye coordination, and that is what you need when you refuel another plane in mid-air."
Leiter, a big supporter of the military, donated $25,000 last year to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, an organization that finances scholarship bonds for children of servicemen and federal agents killed in the line of duty. He is very supportive of the military, publicly and privately, and was an active participant in Sunday's Military Appreciation Day at Shea Stadium.
"The planes came right next to us; it was an amazing day," Leiter said. "After being with these guys for a short amount of time, you have even more respect for what they do."
"We're an all-volunteer Air Force," said Col. JJ Jackson, of the 305th Air Mobility Wing. "A lot of the men and women you see here have sacrificed an awful lot just doing their daily jobs. As volunteers, we don't expect recognition, but when you get it, especially in this way, it reminds us of what a great country we're serving."
Later that day, Leiter spoke to approximately 300 enlistees' children at a school off the base.
"I told the kids that because of my profession, sometimes people regard us as heroes," he said. "I just told them that, in my mind, their mothers and fathers were the real heroes and not us. We just play a simple game of baseball."