News

Keeping things running

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Matthew Hubby
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  There is a group of people at Dover Air Force Base, Del., who are often overlooked. However, they are base leadership's right hands and often the first person to talk to before meeting with a commander.

This group is the secretaries who help run the base.

They are the gatekeepers and the maintainers of their commander's schedules. Most times, if you need to speak to one of the many commanders on base you will be speaking to their secretary first.

"Sometimes, people think they can just walk into a commander's office. We put a protective wall around our commanders as much as we can so they can get their work done," said Deanna Ash, 436th Medical Operations Squadron command secretary. "We also schedule appointments, write letters, work on staff meeting slides and answer the phone. Some of us even have additional duties as well, such as resource manager."

The secretaries have a finger on everything going on in their squadron or group, and act as the liaison between the commander and the various flights in the squadron. Sometimes, a commander may be looking for a piece of paperwork to be on his desk that hasn't been finished and the secretary will track it down. They often make calls to locate a missing file or let someone know a particular tasking needs to be done post haste.
"Sometimes the commander will come to you and say 'do this'," said Mrs. Ash. "It's our job to ensure the job gets done, regardless of what it takes. I've had to come back to the office after hours to make sure e-mails have been sent because the commander needed it first thing the next day."

However, there are some people out there who think that they can bribe their way into the secretaries good graces, unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, bribes never work with the secretaries.

"A lot of people joke they'd like to bribe us to get on our good sides," said Mrs. Ash. "But really, we just want people to treat us like any other co-worker. We don't like people being nice to us just because we're the commander's secretary."

The secretaries must also keep a steady balance in their groups. In the medical group, the ratio of commanders to secretaries is four squadron commanders and the group commander to three secretaries. Often times, they have to cover each other's positions in order for things to run smoothly.

"It's a real juggling act," said Mrs. Ash. "We try to accommodate everybody, but it's no easy task."

The commanders appreciate the dedication of their secretaries, and Lt. Col. Allen Kidd had only good things to say about Mrs. Ash.

"I've worked with Mrs. Ash for two years now," said Colonel Kidd. "She has been an excellent secretary, keeping me on schedule and managing all office tasks with care and expertise."

Before being a secretary Mrs. Ash worked many other jobs at Dover Air Force Base. She has kept records, worked in a maintenance orderly room, at the isolation dock and civilian personnel in her more than 23 years here.

In her ten years of being a secretary, Mrs. Ash said she's encountered some rather interesting characters.

"The funniest thing about my job is the antics of my co-workers. We have one nurse who missed his calling; he should have gone into standup comedy. Just the other day he was dancing all around and singing, sticking his backside out and wiggling it around just as the chief of medical staff walked out of her office," said Mrs. Ash. "If I had to start all over again from day one, I would do it in a heartbeat. You meet lots of people as a secretary, and every commander I've met has had their own unique style and wants. But there hasn't been a one I haven't liked."

This level of dedication may come from her love of the job, said Mrs. Ash, and other secretaries feel the same.