Love is in the air for McGuire Airman ... literally

Published April 6, 2007
By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Williams
506th Air Expeditionary Group

KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq -- Stuck in a holding pattern over Iraq, a flight engineer in an E-8C Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System aircraft from Robins Air Force Base, Ga., had a chance to ask his girlfriend a very important question Feb. 28.

With his heart pounding and his crew listening in, Staff Sgt. Ed Chorney, 16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, dropped to one knee.

In the tower at Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq, Staff Sgt. Sarah Radel, 506th Operations Support Squadron air traffic controller, thought this would just be a chance to catch up with her boyfriend who was passing through Iraqi airspace. She had no idea what he was about to do.

"Hey there, beautiful. I have a question for you," he said. "I was going to wait until our impending trip ... just imagine me down on one knee ... Will you marry me?"

With her coworkers gathered around and listening in on the loud speaker, she said, "Yes."

"I didn't want to embarrass you, but I figured it would be a good opportunity to ask," he said.

"Well, you did a very good job embarrassing me," she said with a laugh.

"I just wanted to catch you before I left (the airspace), and tell you I love you and miss you." With that, Sergeant Chorney was on his way out of Iraqi airspace as an engaged man.

Sergeant Radel was coming to terms with going from "girlfriend" to "fiancé" on what she thought would be an otherwise normal day in Kirkuk.

Then the words of encouragement and congratulations were exchanged. Sergeant Chorney received a standing ovation from his flight crew, and Sergeant Radel was congratulated by her coworkers and everyone in the area who was listening in on that frequency.

It was kind of awkward with everyone there, said Sergeant Radel, referring to her gathering coworkers and everyone listening in.

As soon as she said yes, everyone on the aircraft cheered and congratulated Sergeant Chorney. The men on board told him their wives were going to be jealous because of the public way he proposed.

"I was a little bit nervous starting out because I'm proposing to my girlfriend over the radio for everybody to hear ... including everyone in the aircraft," he said.

Sergeant Chorney said he was going to wait to pop the question until they were together during a planned vacation. With a little coaxing by his crew, he decided this seemed like a better and more spontaneous opportunity.

"I wish I could take 100 percent of the credit for it," Sergeant Chorney said of the decision to ask her over the radio. "I had told (the aircrew) I had planned on asking her during our upcoming vacation. One of the pilots suggested I should go ahead and propose to her while we were flying overhead. I was hesitant about it because I didn't know if Sarah would like that or not. I asked a female on the crew what she thought about it, and she thought it was pretty cool. The chief on board said I should go for it."

Instead of asking for her hand in marriage during their vacation, they will now exchange vows in Hawaii.

McGuire Love