People accomplish the Air Force mission Published Sept. 3, 2009 By Col. Todd Emmert 436th MSG commander DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- As we celebrate Labor Day this weekend, we are reminded once again that it's our people that accomplish the Air Force mission. In the Air Force, we value technology. After all, where would we be without stealth aircraft, precision-guided weapons, unmanned aerial vehicles and a constellation of satellites surrounding the earth designed to provide us instantaneous information with a stroke of a computer key? However, many times we become too caught up in the technology that aids in our efforts that we forget this simple fact. The events of this past week serve as an excellent example that it is people, not technology, that gets the job done. Since my arrival at Dover AFB, one of our most prized possessions has been our modern Aerial Port Mechanized Material Handling System. This monstrous facility is capable of storing several hundred pallets of cargo destined for our troops serving in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and around the world. At the heart of the MMHS is the Elevating Transfer Vehicle. The ETV is a technologically-advanced mechanized miracle tool capable of automatically moving and storing pallets controlled by a central computer. We constantly celebrate the wonders of our MMHS and ETV. We show it off to visiting dignitaries, countless politicians, and military officials touring our Aerial Port. They have witnessed the ETV perform work previously done by Airmen performing many traditional Aerial Port functions. With the ETV we no longer need to form grids for pallets in cargo yards, we no longer need a host of forklift drivers to move cargo and we no longer need to train our troops to accomplish the task now computerized and mechanized within the MMHS - or do we? This past week the impossible happened. Our celebrated modern-day miracle machine failed! And it failed in a big way! Part of the ETV literally crashed to the ground, requiring a Class A mishap investigation. This major malfunction rendered the multi-million dollar MMHS nearly useless and trapped dozens of pallets of much-needed cargo inside. What would we do? How could we palletize, store and configure cargo without our modern mechanized miracle machine? Well, we did it with people! The men and women of the aerial port squadron immediately mobilized and began performing their mission the old fashioned way. Before being asked by leadership, our experienced civil servants and NCOs began designing a grid to store cargo and started teaching our newer Airmen how to employ manual techniques to configure, store, and prioritize cargo. Within hours of the mishap, our people had the Aerial Port fully functional. The trapped cargo was cleverly removed from the MMHS and on its way to our deployed warfighters. A fully-operational cargo yard was up and running with a host of forklift operators busily moving pallets. Our experienced civil servants and NCOs were leading a herculean effort, maintaining confidence in Team Dover's ability to accomplish its worldwide mission. Yes, our people were pulling together and making the impossible look easy. Accolades began flowing from our leaders at 18th Air Force, Headquarters Air Mobility Command and 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center. Our ETV, our technology, let us down but our people rose to the occasion. During the past three decades I've witnessed our Air Force become more and more reliant on technology to perform our mission. Stealth aircraft, precision-guided weapons, and unmanned aerial vehicles all developed and employed during my career have changed the way we perform our mission. The next three decades will undoubtedly see equal or greater revolutions in military technology. These again will merely be technological tools of the trade. People will remain the resource that accomplish the Air Force mission. Today we celebrate labor, our people's efforts to accomplish the mission of the United States Air Force. Today, I salute the men and women of the 436th Aerial Port Squadron for making the once thought of "impossible" look easy. I also salute all the men and women of Team Dover for accomplishing our mission, today and tomorrow, with or without our modern miracle machines.