DAFB tour program welcomes community

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Morgan
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  A new community relations program here is helping community members take in a little bit of the Dover Air Force Base experience.

Since early January 2011, Dover's Ambassador Program has been successful in providing more manpower for community tours of the facilities and mission here.

The program provides servicemembers and their spouses, and Department of Defense civilians of Team Dover the opportunity to escort members from other bases, the local community, distinguished visitors and visitors from other states.

"Opening our gates to community members helps them understand our mission and the many components that come together to make 'airlift' happen is a huge win. It helps strengthen our bond with our surrounding community," said Chief Master Sgt. John Evalle, 436th Airlift Wing Command Chief.

Team Dover's ambassadors help frame the tour by providing the background, purpose and relevance of Dover AFB, said Jennifer Vallee, 436th Public Affairs community relations chief. Tours involve leading visitors to various facilities to showcase our effort. The tours show Team Dover hard at work, as well as military life and the culture on base.

Many times, the ambassador is the first impression of the base on these tours, said Mrs. Vallee. The tours can range from 10 to 80 members and be up to seven hours long. Tour requests with ambassador escorts are filtered through public affairs' community relations office.

The program currently has more than 30 ambassadors who are trained through an orientation by Mrs. Vallee, and each ambassador is expected to serve a six-month term.

"There is always room for more Airmen who are interested in the program," said Mrs. Vallee.

"Being a Dover Air Force Base ambassador is significant for our Airmen because it gives them the opportunity to proudly showcase what they do every day to support our mission and serve our country," said Chief Evalle. "For our Airmen, this is a very rewarding experience."