More than one way to say, "Good bye!"

Good bye! Adios! Farewell! Adieu! Bye bye! Hasta la vista!
 

There are many way of saying good bye to a good friend, a co-worker or a boss, and hopefully it's meaningful and enjoyable - and complete with cake and fruit punch.
 

Here at the 920th Rescue Wing, things are done a bit differently. There is only one way to say good bye to a pilot - by hunting him down, tying him to a litter, spray painting his feet green and dunking him in a vat of green sea dye.

Colonel Jeffrey Macrander, former 920th Rescue Wing Operations Group Commander, had his final flight as a member of the wing and an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter pilot October 9. Upon landing, a crew of his peers, co-workers, other pilots and his wife, joined in the fini-flight ritual.

First, Col. Macrander's patches were stripped off of his flight suit so they wouldn't succumb to the vibrant green sea dye, then he was zip-tied to one of the stokes litters used for rescue, his boots and socks were removed and the bottom of his feet were spray painted green and then stamped onto a ceiling tile which will be displayed with others like it in the Jolly break room of the helicopter sqaudron. Why green feet? Because they have come to symbolize rescue. One version of the historical significance of the green feet dates back to the Vietnam era when the big green helicopters landed in the tall fields of grass flattening it into big footprints.

The next part of the rescue ritual gets even better. Col. Macrander's tormentors picked him up, strapped him in "safely" to the stokes litter of course, and carried him to the wagon-like vat filled to the top with ice-cold neon green sea water. After setting him in the arctic Gator-aid looking water as gently as only one pilot would do to another, they proceeded to dump a cooler of ice onto the good colonel. His wife, with the help of others, showered him with champagne, the cheap stuff I assume. Col. Macrander was then paraded around the flight line in style - strapped to the stokes litter - immersed in a vat of green water as it spilled over the sides of the tub in waves.

His new job at headquarters may be less dirty, but you'll have to wonder if it will be more fun.

Good luck, Col. Macrander!