Team Dover exemplifies Rapid Global Mobility

Tech. Sgt. Ross Krotzer, 373d Training Squadron Detachment 3 instructor, shows Lt. Gen. Sam Cox, 18th Air Force commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Todd Petzel, 18th AF command chief, the inside of a training simulator Feb. 28, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. Cox and Petzel visited Team Dover to highlight how day-to-day operations at Dover contributes to the 18th AF’s rapid global mobility mission. As Air Mobility Command’s sole warfighting numbered air force, 18th AF is responsible for the command’s worldwide operational mission of providing rapid, global mobility and sustainment for America’s armed forces through airlift, aerial refueling, aeromedical evacuation, and contingency response. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia)

Team Dover exemplifies Rapid Global Mobility

Senior Airman John Weaver, 436th Maintenance Squadron crew chief, and Lt. Gen. Sam Cox, 18th Air Force commander, walk on a C-5M Super Galaxy’s wing during a tour of the 436th Maintenance Squadron’s Isochronal Maintenance Dock March 1, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. During an ISO inspection, aircraft maintainers strip down the C-5 looking for any deficiencies, faults, cracks or other problems in every system of the aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia)

Team Dover exemplifies Rapid Global Mobility

Tech. Sgt. Brian Goring, 436th Security Forces Squadron Phoenix Raven, gives an equipment and weapons briefing to Lt. Gen. Sam Cox, 18th Air Force commander, his wife, Tammy Cox, and Chief Master Sgt. Todd Petzel, 18th AF command chief, during a tour March 1, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. The Ravens put on a combative demonstration to help them better understand the Raven’s mission. Ravens provide close-in security for aircraft transiting airfields where security is unknown or additional security is needed to counter local threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia)

Team Dover exemplifies Rapid Global Mobility

Chief Master Sgt. Todd Petzel, 18th Air Force command chief, uses binoculars to watch a C-5M Super Galaxy land Feb. 28, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. Dover AFB is one of two C-5M bases that report to 18th AF. Dover’s C-5Ms and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft delivered more than 127 million pounds of cargo and 11,000 passengers last year alone. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia)

Team Dover exemplifies Rapid Global Mobility

Lt. Gen. Sam Cox, 18th Air Force commander, his wife, Tammy Cox, and Chief Master Sgt. Todd Petzel, 18th AF command chief, tour the Fisher House for Families of the Fallen March 2, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. The Fisher House provides care, service and support to families of fallen Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen who attend Dignified Transfers. It is the only one of its kind designed for families of the fallen and is also managed by uniformed personnel. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia)

Team Dover exemplifies Rapid Global Mobility

Published March 7, 2017
By Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia
436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --

On any given day, at any given time, Team Dover’s flying giants are delivering cargo, equipment and personnel to airfields around the globe, supporting ongoing operations and humanitarian relief.

But this is only accomplished because of the dedication and professionalism of Team Dover’s Airmen.

Dover AFB’s 436^th Airlift Wing, a part of 18th Air Force, operates a fleet of 18 C-5M Super Galaxy and 13 C-17 Globemaster III airlifters crewed and supported by Airmen who exemplify air mobility.

“What you do on a day-to-day basis matters, and don’t ever forget that,” said Lt. Gen. Sam Cox, 18th Air Force commander, during an all call at the base last week “The contributions that you make matter in a big way.”

Those contributions extend around the world. In the past year, Team Dover delivered roughly 127 million pounds of cargo and 11,000 passengers over the course of 11,000 flight hours.

Cox said it’s the base’s 7,600 Total-Force Airmen who make those missions happen, and that makes Dover special. Cox commanded the 436th AW from 2005 to 2007. He said that while many things have changed since then, one thing never has.

“The thing that has stayed most consistent is that we have amazing Airmen,” Cox said. “We had them then, and we have them now. We saw that first-hand as we went around the base. It’s great to see the magical things that happen here every single day.”

Regardless of where an Airman works, whether it be operations, maintenance, mission support or medical, they all play an important and essential part in making that magic happen.

“Every single day I’m out there turning wrenches, making sure that the aircraft gets off the ground on time,” said Senior Airman Kyle Gaylord, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief. “It’s a very fulfilling job. It’s a lot of hard hours working the line, trying to keep the planes in the air. But seeing that plane leave reminds me that we are doing our part to help the people downrange.”

Airmen like Gaylord are responsible for making sure the wing’s aircraft get off the ground safely, while Airmen like Staff Sgt. Robert C. Wink Jr., 9th Airlift Squadron loadmaster, makes sure the cargo they carry gets delivered.

“The troops downrange, they need their equipment,” said Wink. “Our job is to make sure that their equipment gets to them in a timely manner and safe.”

Wink is also responsible for training the next generation of loadmasters.

“We have the capability of ensuring that we have the highest quality of people doing the job,” Wink said. “If our training shop is doing a great job, that means that the product is going to be good; good students.”

But not all Airmen work on or fly in airplanes. The 436th Medical Support Squadron’s Tricare Operations and Patient Administration Flight commander, 1st Lt. Leah McNell, is one such Airman.

“I love it, I’m dealing with patients,” McNell said. “We make sure that our patients are served and that all of their questions are addressed. I can walk out the door every day feeling a fulfillment, that hey, I actually served; that I had that face-to-face interaction with a patient and I served them.”

Gaylord, Wink and McNell’s day-to-day jobs are vastly different. But they all have one thing in common, they are all necessary for the success of Team Dover’s mission.

“Be really good at your job and understand how you connect what you do as an individual Airman to the job of your flight, your squadron, your wing,” Cox said. “If you can connect what you do to the mission the wing commander is responsible for, we’re good. Understanding how you make that connection is really important.”