The Dover Shuffle … it’s history!

  • Published
  • By Col. Dennis Daley
  • 436th MXG commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  oh yes, I remember it like it was yesterday. There I was an Air Staff analyst visiting Dover Air Force Base for the first time. I was asked to oversee a contractor team of logisticians visiting bases to determine what could be done to correct the terrible aircraft cannibalization problem. At the time, Dover had not one, but two totally gutted C-5 Galaxy cannibalization jets parked between hangars. The C-5 parts situation was bad - really bad.

During this first visit at Dover, I observed an aircraft maintenance squadron day to swing shift turnover just outside Building 760. Something was wrong. Following their roll call, the maintainers trudged to their trucks as if they carried a 50-pound rucksack on their back. These Airmen were slouched over, heads down, uniforms sagging - and this was at the beginning of their shift!

I had to ask, what was going on? An officer told me I had just observed the Dover Shuffle. He went on to explain that C-5 maintainers had been on 12-hour shifts for months, they were unable to keep up with the workload and morale was terrible.

Think back to 2002 - Dover was well into Operation Enduring Freedom and was the primary hub for all cargo flowing into the theater. The ramp was literally overflowing with C-5s. Although they had a large activated Reserve maintenance team to support them, it was apparent the Dover Shuffle illustrated a workforce that was approaching its breaking point.

Now, advance the time machine from 2002 to 2009. There is no evidence of a Dover Shuffle today. Today it is a full blown Dover Sprint. The attitude of our Airmen across the wing is outstanding. Without any deployed Reserve force to support Dover, the aerial port is breaking monthly cargo records, more than 2002 - way more. Today, our port dawgs are processing cargo at levels similar to the height of Operation Desert Storm when they possessed large activated service components.

How can this be? How could the attitude and motivation of our people be so much better with less people and fewer resources, yet a higher mission requirement? Simply put, how can fewer people in 2009 out produce more people in 2002? Attitude folks, the key is attitude. Attitude of the Airmen, attitude of their civilian mentors and attitude of our noncommissioned officers.

Today, this Dover Sprint has replaced the Dover Shuffle. Today across the installation, our Airmen are sprinting - well motivated and with a sense of purpose. Because of our people, we lead the entire Air Force in Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century, Maintenance Reserve Management, C-5 and C-17 aircraft maintenance and flying statistics, aerial port cargo flow, Logistics Readiness Squadron supply rates, the "Dover-Effect" with anti-terrorism, national visibility of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center, a highly successful C-5M Operational Testing and Evaluation program and more. The Dover Sprint has earned this base two Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence nominations from Air Mobility Command and the first ever AMC base to win IEA at the Air Force level in 2008.

It's a major reversal. An overworked swing shift doing their Dover Shuffle has been transformed to a highly motivated base, leading the Air Force in production, programs and innovation. Isn't it great to be a part of a winning team?