The End of Mustache March

Following a challenge from the Air Force’s Chief of Staff, the males of Detachment 415 set their crosshairs this March on growing the best mustaches they could muster in just 31 short days. It quickly became clear that many would need every single one of those days to achieve any semblance of the handlebar ‘stache for which the tradition began (and for some, 31 still wouldn’t be enough). In his speech in late February however, General Mark Welsh made it clear that the ladies of our Air Force were not to be left out of the fun, giving them the far more enviable task of ridiculing the guys about their valiant, yet futile and surely “idiotic” looking attempts at looking like Tom Selleck. The annual Air Force tradition originated as a tribute to the late Brigadier General Robin Olds, a legendary fighter pilot and “triple ace” with 16 aerial kills over his 30-year military career spanning from World War II through the Vietnam War.  General Olds began growing his famous whiskers while deployed during the Vietnam War where it became superstition for all deployed Airmen to grow their own “bulletproof mustache” for protection. Now each March, Airmen stationed all over the world grow their flavor savers both as a tribute to our heritage, and as a morale booster within each respective unit. All in all I think most cadets would agree Mustache March was a great success in 2014. While most cadets, many of whom have yet to reach their 20^th birthday, may have struggled to grow any discernible ‘stache visible from further than 10 ft. away, the month undeniably brought many jokes and laughs, and helped build upon the camaraderie of the Flying Gophers Detachment. 

-Cadet Sarno

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