Military and civilian personnel from RAF Fylingdales joined their American colleagues in celebrating the recent promotion of their resident Liaison Officer.
The United States Liaison Officer, Jose Chaparro was promoted from Captain to Major at the RADAR site watched by his friends and family in a heartwarming ceremony, the first to be held at RAF Fylingdales.
Jose joined the US Air Force in 2003 and has travelled throughout the United States with tours of duty that included Colorado, North Dakota and California before venturing east to Whitby, where he has noted it is a little bit colder than he is accustomed.
The promotion ceremony had several distinguished guests that included Lt Col Walsh, Officer Commanding, 18th Space Control Squadron, Jose’s parents, who travelled over from Florida, and of course the Station Commander, Wing Commander Al Walton.
During the formal element of the event, Lt Col Walsh paid tribute to Jose and had this to say about his achievements:
“Major Chaparro epitomizes our Air Force core values of integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. Being promoted is not just a testament to his phenomenal record but also to his ability to perform in the higher grade. He will be an outstanding field grade officer and I am honored and proud to be here to promote him today.”
The pinning on of Jose’s new rank was carried out by his mum on one side, and his former boss on the other. Mrs Chaparro said:
‘I am so proud of Jose and lucky to be able to visit him in the lovely town of Whitby. Our short stay has been wonderful, and to know Jose has been welcomed into the community is a blessing.’
Jose will continue the rest of his tour here in the rank of Major before his next tour of duty to a location yet to be determined.
RAF Fylingdales routinely tracks objects in space, including the International Space Station and space debris utilizing the Solid State Phased Array Radar. You can follow the Station Twitter feed @RAFFylingdales.
