Kansas City Chiefs’ cheerleaders visit Keesler Published Sept. 30, 2016 By Senior Airman Heather Heiney 403rd Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Gold and red pom poms shimmered in the Southern sun when National Football League cheerleaders from the Kansas City Chiefs visited Keesler Air Force Base today. Cheerleaders Katrina, Tara, Sarah and Claire (team policy dictates that they don’t share their last names) were here as part of an event hosted by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service that included a tour of the base, a Chiefs’ Cheerleader clinic for children at the Youth Center and a fashion show at the main Exchange. During the tour the cheerleaders had the opportunity to learn more about the 403rd Wing and 81st Training Wing missions and talk with Airmen about the importance of those missions. “What I have really admired is the passion that I can see at each of the sites that we have visited and it’s been great to show our respect for what they do,” Tara said. The cheerleaders practiced flight line driving with a 334th Training Squadron simulator, toured the inside of a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft with the 815th Airlift Squadron “Flying Jennies” and did a cheer for the end-of-year closeout at the 81st Comptroller Squadron. “I may be one of the few members of the 403rd Wing with ties to Kansas City,” said Col. Jeff Ragusa, 403rd Operations Support Squadron pilot who lived in the area. “I became a Chiefs’ fan in the mid-to-late nineties and have been one ever since.” Not only do visit from the Chiefs’ cheerleaders and other influential people help boost morale for Airmen and their families, Ragusa said they also help build community support and tell the Air Force story. “Any good publicity that we get can be helpful to tell the Air Force story and get people involved,” Ragusa said. “Any time you can mix Air Force life with civilian life and show people that we’re regular folks too, it send the right message to young folks who might someday dream of being in the military.”