U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team Visits Patients at Salinas Valley Health

Media Contact: Karina Rusk
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Media Contact: Karina Rusk 831-759-1843

U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team Visits Patients at Salinas Valley Health

SALINAS, CA, September 29, 2017- Today patients at Salinas Valley Health (Salinas Valley Health) met members of the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team. The surprise visit brought smiles to the faces of patients, visitors and staff. The F-22 Raptor team is in town for the weekend’s California International Airshow Salinas and visited the hospital between training sessions.

“It is an honor to visit patients at Salinas Valley Memorial,” says Major Paul ‘Loco’ Lopez who pilots one of the F-22 Raptors. “I’ve been piloting this aircraft for six years and it’s an amazing experience. We enjoy visiting children in hospitals. Its as rewarding for us as it special for them.”

The F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team met with a number of pediatric patients including three year old Serena Arguero who has been in the hospital for two days. “This was a very nice surprise,” says Jeff Arguero, Serena’s dad. “Not only do they serve our country, they also serve our community by making these kinds of visits.”

“Our little boy Arias was happy to see the F-22 Raptor demonstration team,” says Desiren Cornelius, mother of one year old Arias Rosales. “Every member of the team greeted him. Not only has he received exceptional care at Salinas Valley Memorial, we all got to meet these heroes. It was an amazing experience.”

Nurses were happy to see and meet members of the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team. “It’s great to see them interact with kids”, says Heidi Olguin, RN. “It’s an honor to be able to meet them and it gives us an opportunity to thank them for their service.”

The U.S. Air Force F-22 is a single seat, twin engine stealth tactical fighter aircraft known for its impressive maneuverability, for its radar evading technology and for having the ability of fly just shy of the speed of sound. It was designed as an air superiority fighter. The F-22 measures 62 feet in length, 16 feet in height, with a wingspan of 44 feet. Two F-22 Raptors will be performing sharply choreographed loops and rolls and even flying backwards at the California International Airshow Salinas on Saturday and Sunday.