An Air National Guard C130J-30 landed at Paso Robles Airport Wednesday afternoon with an unusual mission. The plane flew in so that Lieutenant Colonel Jared Miller could thank airport officials for their help on June 2nd.. On that day the Air National Guard transported 400 National Guard troops to Paso Robles for training at Camp Roberts. The troops began arriving at the airport around 10:30 am that Tuesday morning. The last flight arrived around 10:00 pm.
LTC Miller awarded framed thank-you messages from the Air National Guard to Roger Oxborrow, manager of the Airport; Alex Cole of ACI Jet; Kendall Pearson of Air Paso Flight Service, a flight school at the airport; and Joe Ontiveros of Joe’s One-Niner Diner. Joe’s One-Niner diner, which usually closes at 2:00 pm, stayed open until after 8:30 to feed all the troops when they arrived. Helping on the ground with the arrival and departure, Tech Sergeant Andy Ontiveros of Paso Robles. Andy is Joe’s 38-year-old son. Andy helped C13-J-30 navigate on the tarmac when it arrived around 3:00 pm Wednesday afternoon.
LTC Miller said, “The outpouring of support from the community was amazing. What the airport did for us was wonderful, from the airport manager to Joe’s Place to ACI Jet and members of the local community. It was greatly appreciated. We wanted to thank them.”
LTC Miller awarded the thank-you plaques to four airport officials. He also thanked members of the community for their support. Miller and his crew begin work Thursday, July 23rd, fighting wildfires in Northern California.
