Dover wins AF antiterrorism award Published June 27, 2008 By 2nd Lt. Brian Maguire 436th AW Public Affairs DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Dover Air Force Base was named the 2008 Air Force Best Antiterrorism Program Installation award winner June 13. "This is a hard-earned award," said Mike Mendoza, 436th Airlift Wing antiterrorism advisor. "The efforts of the Threat Working Group, Force Protection Working Group and Unit Antiterrorism Representatives are the foundation to our team's winning success." This is the second year in a row that Dover has been chosen to represent the Air Force at the Department of Defense awards. Last year Mr. Mendoza was named the 2007 Best Antiterrorism Program Manager for both the Air Force and Department of Defense. Mr. Mendoza attributes the success of Dover's Antiterrorism program to the hard work of the Antiterrorism/Force Protection team at Dover AFB. "Our Wing AT/FP team's ability to self-identify issues and potential improvement areas allows us to identify shortfalls and develop corrective actions to improve our overall protection posture and response capability," he said. Team Dover has had a long history of success with their antiterrorism program, said Mr. Mendoza. In fact, the term "The Dover Effect" was coined because the antiterrorism program illustrated a robust security image and presented Dover AFB as a difficult target. The Dover Effect is repeatedly mentioned in conjunction with the "Fort Dix Six," who had looked at Dover AFB as a potential target, but were deterred by the results of the base's antiterrorism program. The "Fort Dix Six" are six individuals who allegedly planned a terrorist attack on Fort Dix, N.J., in May 2007. For the last 10 years, Dover has lead Air Mobility Command in innovative antiterrorism actions and resource generation, Mr. Mendoza said. In addition to innovation, for the last five years Dover has led AMC in submitting and receiving specialized funding for antiterrorism programs. The efforts of every agency to participate in the installation's antiterrorism program and serve as subject matter experts in their respective disciplines are essential to this award. "They are critical to our self-assessment process, ability to evaluate and design corrective solutions and implement protection strategies and emergency response plans," Mr. Mendoza said. The base will now compete for the DoD-level award. Results will be announced in September.