Portuguese Reporter visits the 174th Attack Wing

Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Syracuse, New York -- Ricardo Lourenco, correspondent for l' espresso magazine paid a visit to the 174th Attack Wing to observe the daily MQ-9 operations for a future story.

"I felt like this is a very relevant piece of machinery," said Lourenco of his reason for writing his article.

L' espresso magazine published its first magazine in 1955 and has a circulation of over 216,000 readers. L' espresso is also one of two of the most prominent weekly magazines in Italy.

Lourenco has worked for l' espresso magazine since 2000 and moved to North America in 2009 for his correspondence work. He frequently travels back and forth from Canada to Boston, Massachusetts.

In the past he has worked with organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

"I've thoroughly developed a respect for the military through the assignments that I've been on," said Lourenco.

Maj. Sandy Stoquert, 174th Attack Wing Public Affairs Officer, escorted Lourenco on his tour of the 174th ATKW's Mobile Emergency Operations Center (MEOC) and Field Training Detachment (FTD).

"He seemed surprised at the size of the aircraft," said Stoquert. "I think he was expecting it to be a lot smaller than what it really is."

"Now that's a plane," said Lourenco, once entering the FTD.

Once in the FTD, Lourenco met with MQ-9 instructors, maintainers and operators who explained the 174th ATKW's state and federal missions. Lourenco also learned the history of the aircraft.