Command Corner: March 21

  • Published
  • By Col. Steven Harrison
  • 436th Airlift Wing Commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Last weekend, numerous Team Dover members spent their free time giving back to the community and their fellow Airmen. On March 15, a large number of you showed up to participate in the St. Patrick's Day Parade through downtown Dover. Thank you for taking time out of your busy lives and schedules to strengthen the bond we share with this city, community and the great state of Delaware! 

While many were participating in the parade, an even greater number of our warriors were conducting deployed operations as Team Dover's 805th Air Expeditionary Wing at the Contingency Readiness Training Center at Alpena, Mich. Our operational readiness inspection is just around the corner, and we look forward to sharing in the wealth of information that our team was able to gather during their important fact-finding visit. Early reports are out and it's clearly evident that Team Dover is getting into the ORI warfighting frame of mind! 

The ORI is one way in which we enhance our readiness to defend our nation against any threats. But as Air Force members, there are other ways we can assist our base, our service and our neighbors in preparing for the unexpected. Last week, I established Capt. Paul Smith, 436 Maintenance Squadron, as the installation project officer for the Air Force Assistance Fund. This is a six-week annual fundraising campaign that directly supports Airmen around the force, including right here at Dover. Historically, in fact, the AFAF gives back to our community more than 300 percent above what we contribute. For example, last year Team Dover members contributed $32,000 to the Air Force Aid Society, while the Air Force Aid Society, one of the four charities supported by the fund, gave $107,000 to assist members of Team Dover with emergency financial assistance. 

The Air Force Aid Society, along with each of the exceptional charities listed below, is available to assist our Airmen, dependents and retirees. The Gen. and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation, the Air Force Enlisted Village Indigent Widows' Fund and the Air Force Villages Indigent Widows' Fund provide financial assistance to the widows and widowers of retired Airmen. These organizations work tirelessly to ensure both current and past generations Airmen and their families are offered assistance in their time of need. Please take time to meet with your squadron point of contact, and let them show you how much your contribution can benefit our Air Force family. 

Meanwhile, March 19, we had a great opportunity to demonstrate the incredible capability of our newest airlifter, the C-17 Globemaster III, to our congressional delegation. Sen. Tom Carper and Rep. Mike Castle, along with key members from their staff and Sen. Joe Biden's office, joined a 3rd Airlift Squadron aircrew on a training mission in an effort to give our elected officials a first-hand look at the unique agility this aircraft provides during a typical combat employment scenario. 

Our distinguished visitors were left in awe as the mighty C-17A blazed down the runway en route to an aerial rejoin with a tanker for an air refueling, before conducting a tactical descent from 23,000 feet to 5,000 feet in one minute, hugging the terrain at 500 feet on a low-level ingress to an assault landing on a South Carolina runway not much larger than the deck of an aircraft carrier, then stopping the aircraft in 2,000 feet. From there, the aircrew backed the aircraft up and executed an immediate departure to return to Dover for an instrument arrival in simulated low weather conditions and a combat offload. An impressive flight to say the least ... flown by the greatest aircrews, in an aircraft maintained, loaded and serviced by the absolute best men and women the Air Force has ever seen ... wow! 

Assisting our Airmen and their families in their time, developing our warrior ethos and strengthening ties to the fantastic Dover community ... three more reasons Team Dover is "America's Preeminent Expeditionary Airlift Team!"