Air Force drill team wows Moses Lake students

MOSES LAKE - For a crowded middle school gym, it got pretty quiet during a recent visit by the Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team.

A collective gasp could be heard each time a rifle was tossed in the air, followed by a few relieved whispers once it landed safely back in the drill team member's arms.

The Air Force drill team performed for about 1,000 students at Chief Moses Middle School on Thursday.

The team performed at the school before heading to the Columbia Basin Job Corps for a second Moses Lake show that day.

The Chief Moses Middle School performance was the drill team's largest show on their Spokane tour.

The drill team has been visiting Fairchild Air Force Base and performs at their military ball this week before heading out to McChord A.F.B. in Tacoma to continue their tour.

Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski, of Fairchild A.F.B., said Fairchild officials wanted the drill team to make the trip to Moses Lake as a thank you to the community for their support last year when Fairchild was under construction.

"Our folks lived and worked out of Moses Lake for a while," he said. "We wanted to just show our appreciation for that support."

He added that the drill team, based at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington D.C., is the best drill team in the nation. The team beat out other Air Force teams as well as teams from other branches of the military during competitions.

"You're not just getting an A-grade show, you're getting the best show in the entire Department of Defense," Buzanowski said. "These are the guys the other services look up to."

The drill team performance includes rifle tossing, weapon exchanges and complex drill movements. Members of the drill team works with fully functional 11-pound weapons during the show.

A member of the drill team walks through a spinning line of weapons for the finale, trusting that his teammates are timing the spins perfectly.

"It's a really exciting show," Buzanowski said.