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Wednesday, Jul. 01, 2009

Bulldog badge of honor: Lt. colonel presents Richt with flag

When Keith Filer arrived at the in processing building at an undisclosed location in December 2007, one of the first things he saw made him very unhappy.

A University of Hawaii banner.

In processing was being run by a guard unit from Hawaii, and the men had decided to let their allegiance be known.

Filer, a lieutenant colonel with the 116th Air Control Wing — better known as JSTARS — is a lifelong Bulldogs fan, and with Georgia scheduled to take on Hawaii a few days later in the Sugar Bowl, the football bantering began.

“Right away, I told them I was from Georgia and a Bulldog fan, and that started a lot of good natured back and forth ribbing, “ Filer said.

Filer, an air intelligence officer, takes his Bulldogs seriously, and when he flies hangs a Georgia banner in the plane.

After arriving for his deployment, Filer learned that his first scheduled flight would be on the night of Jan. 1, 2008, and that although they would be landing Jan. 2, the Sugar Bowl would still be going on because of the time difference.

So along with his Georgia banner, Filer also took an American flag on board with him that evening.

“My intention, because I have so much confidence and faith in the Bulldogs, was to fly that flag in honor of their Sugar Bowl victory,” Filer explained.

After they landed, Filer ran to the closest television to see the Sugar Bowl on the Armed Forces Network. At the break before the start of the fourth quarter, he found a bigger television to finish watching the game with other Georgia fans.

Georgia defeated Hawaii 41-10 and went on to finish in the final Associated Press poll that season.

Filer, who returned to Warner Robins in spring of 2008, decided he would like to present the flag to UGA football coach Mark Richt.

Due to the demands on Richt’s schedule during the summer and fall, Filer was told that presentations can only be made in the spring, and that he would have to wait until the next year.

So it was spring of 2009, just a few weeks ago, that Filer, accompanied by his wife, Wendi, met with coach Richt in his office in Athens.

Filer said that while the conversation started off about football, it quickly turned to Iraq.

Richt had been on a USO tour with 10 other coaches from the Southeast and visited about 10 bases.

“He talked about the places he had visited and the reaction that he received over there, but mostly the appreciation he has for our troops.”

The two men also talked about mission trips they had participated in; the Filers have been on several mission trips to Moldova. while Richt has taken his family and members of his UGA football team on mission trips to Central America.

“Coach Richt is very mission-minded,” Filer said. “That includes his character witness on a daily basis. We talked some about the responsibility of mentoring young men, whether it is in the military or as a major university coach.”

Richt told Filer that he would be meeting with the Georgia team that afternoon and would show the team the flag and explain it’s significance.

“Coach Richt said that the flag would be framed and that a place had already been chosen to display it in the player’s lounge. He said that it was appropriate because I flew it in honor of a victory that had not taken place yet, but with the heart and faith that the Bulldogs would be victorious.”