DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Dover Air Force Base hosted the 2023 Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee State of the Base, Nov. 20, 2023.
The State of the Base briefing is an annual event that brings together business, community, and military leaders to increase understanding of the base’s role in the local and global communities.
The State of the Base is told through the “eyes of Team Dover Airmen,” through stories that illustrate the wing’s mission of Deliver, vision of empowered Airmen, and priorities of care, readiness, and innovation.
“When the nation calls, Team Dover delivers! Whether it’s taking extraordinary risks in the largest non-combatant evacuation in history, bringing hope to those hit by natural disasters, or expediting the most urgent security assistance needs, our Airmen do it all!” said U.S. Air Force Col. Chris McDonald, 436th Airlift Wing commander.
Just this year, Dover has executed nearly 8,000 missions, delivering more than 130 million pounds of cargo and 6,000 passengers around the globe, in support of four combatant commands.
Dover AFB operates the largest state-side aerial port in the Department of Defense, the Super Port, where a large portion of the security aid missions bound for Ukraine have originated. Dover AFB has supported 447 security assistance missions and has moved 172 million pounds of cargo bound for Ukraine.
“Logistics and resupply wins or loses wars, so when the men and women of Dover, who are critical to the resupply of our troops and our forces, our allies and our partners around the world demonstrate that they are state of the art and world-class, that improves our readiness and our deterrence,” said U.S. Senator Chris Coons.
In addition to Coons, Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, and U.S. Senator Tom Carper, who commended Dover Airmen for their hard work and support of the community, attended the event.
“While it will come as no surprise that we’ve been hard at work executing our mission, we’ve also been updating the infrastructure of our base with the help of our elected officials and supporting agencies,” said McDonald.
Over the past year, Dover AFB has had 36 construction projects in the works, valued at $186 million.
One of the 36 projects is a new dormitory featuring private bathrooms, laundry rooms, vending machines, storage rooms, administrative offices, and recreation areas. The addition of this dorm will fill a 168-bed shortage, allowing junior Airmen to live on base longer.
One of the largest projects is a new aircraft maintenance hangar capable of fully enclosing a C-5M Super Galaxy, allowing Airmen to avoid the elements as they conduct maintenance.
We couldn’t do what we do without the great community relationships we have in the First State, and we love calling this home,” said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Carolyn Russell, 436th Airlift Wing command chief. “All of us together create a family that is part of Delaware…we’re symbiotic.”