AUGUSTA — Health care workers and other essential personnel at Togus VA and MaineGeneral took a break Tuesday to watch a flyover by a Maine National Guard KC-135.

The massive aircraft is part of the 101st Air Refueling Wing stationed in Bangor, and typically assists fighter jets and other aircraft to gas-up while in flight. On Tuesday, however, its mission was different, and the jet flew overhead from hospital to hospital for more than two hours.

“The entire Maine National Guard is honored to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the healthcare workers and first responders who are working on the front lines to combat COVID-19,” said Maj. Gen. Douglas Farnham, Maine’s adjutant general. “We are also deeply grateful for those essential personnel diligently working to keep our shelves stocked and families supplied.”

The flyover was part of Operation American Resolve, a nationwide salute to those supporting COVID-19 response efforts. The event provided training hours for aircrews and was conducted at no additional cost to taxpayers, the National Guard said.

Other locations that were part of the flyover included Maine Veterans’ Homes in Scarborough and Bangor, Maine Medical Center, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Houlton Regional Hospital, Aroostook Medical Center, the former Loring Air Force Base, St. John River Valley, Northern Maine Medical Center, Millinocket Regional Hospital, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital.

The jet also flew over Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of defense and aerospace company General Dynamics, as a show of appreciation of essential workers.

While BIW is not part of the military, President Trump declared it an essential business critical to the nation’s defense because it makes destroyers for the Navy. Because of this, the shipyard has remained open throughout the pandemic, drawing criticism from some Maine lawmakers and union leaders.

BIW recently partnered with Guilford-based Puritan Medical Group to help double the production of nasal swabs used for COVID-19 tests. The shipyard is also 3-D printing plastic face shields for Maine’s health care workers. The printers can produce 12 shields per day for MaineHealth, the state’s largest health care system.

 

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