DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --
2015 was a year of many stories for the Air Force, and the 512th Airlift Wing was no different. The 512th AW remains as a strong fighting force of Reservists, in sync with active duty Air Force. Here's our top 12 stories from the year that helped define our wing (click the title to view the full story)
January: Reservist becomes first in family with college degree
Tech. Sgt. Melena Quetel became the first of 11 children in her family to receive a college degree Dec. 6, 2014, at the Community College of the Air Force graduation ceremony here.
Thirty-four years after she graduated high school, the 46th Aerial Port Squadron reservist declared, "there's no such thing as being too old, you're never too old to learn."
February: Snow blankets Dover AFB
Photos from the first large snowfall of the year as it blankets Dover Air Force Base, and crews work to clear the flight line.
March: Aerial port reservists support Operation Freedoms' Sentinel
When the Air Force tasked the 46th Aerial Port Squadron from the Air Force Reserve's 512th Airlift Wing, here, with a partial mobilization in the fall of 2014, there were more volunteers than deployment slots available.
Tech. Sgts. Patricia Thurston and Jill Fitzgerald, and Staff Sgt. Debrah Thomas, all 46th APS members, or "port dawgs" as they're referred to, deployed to Bagram Airfield's 455th Air Expeditionary Wing in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the United States' new mission on peacekeeping and counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan.
April: AFMAO conducts first dignified transfer divert exercise
Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations conducted a dignified transfer divert exercise March 19 in collaboration with the 166th Airlift Wing at the New Castle Air National Guard Base, Delaware.
The mission involved up to 60 total force members executing a contingency DT plan at another location.
May: Deployments, TDYs available for combat-ready reservists
Reservists seeking a deployment or temporary duty outside their Reserve Component Period vulnerability cycle can use the Volunteer Reserve System to search for opportunities.
Located online via the Air Reserve Component Network, known as ARCNet, the VRS had 81 "want ads" posted May 12.
June: Reservists lend a helping hammer, foster diversity
Reservists from the 512th Civil Engineer Squadron showed up June 6, 2015, in downtown Dover with work gloves, tool belts, hammers and nails to help build a home for a lesbian, bi-racial couple with three children.
With hopes and dreams of a promising future, Natalie and Latiesha Puzzo, submitted an application for a house through Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity, an organization which provides housing solutions for families. The process includes attending required workshops in areas such as finances, home ownership and sweat equity. Once the Puzzos were approved to receive a home, the next step was building it.
July: Dover C-5Ms ready for wartime mission
The C-5M operators and maintainers of the 436th and 512th Airlift Wings here have been breaking records and raising the bar for global mobility.
Due to Dover's C-5M performance throughout the past several months, Air Mobility Command's C-5M fleet is now one step closer to reaching Full Operational Capability.
August: New leader assumes command of Dover AFB's reserve wing
Col. D. Scott Durham assumed command of the 512th Airlift Wing in a ceremony today inside an aircraft hangar here.
The colonel's previous assignment was at the Pentagon, where he served as the deputy director for mobilization in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.
September: Reservist selected for historic presidential Troop Talk
Staff Sgt. Connor Cooney, a 512th Airlift Wing loadmaster, had the opportunity to ask the President of the United States a question Friday via satellite, during a live-streaming webcast here.
President Barack Obama answered questions from service members in an unprecedented, live, worldwide televised Troop Talk on the 14th anniversary of 9/11, Pentagon Spokesman Peter Cook said.
October: Reserve flyer finishes successful career in the dirt
With only hours remaining in a 20-plus year career, Lt. Col. Sam VanZanten, a 326th Airlift Wing command pilot, had an opportunity that not many C-17 Globemaster III pilots get. He was going to perform an assault landing to a dirt strip in the hills of Virginia near Fort A.P. Hill, Va. Sept. 23, 2015. Dirt landings require just the right combination of precision and finesse. Once committed, there is little room for error. After 4,400 hours of military flying, 3,300 of which was in the C-17, VanZanten knew exactly what needed to be done.
November: Dover reservist helps solve C-5's "phantom smoke" problem
"Smoke in the cockpit! Smoke in the cockpit!" the C-5 flight crew yells in unison. Then the dreaded radio transmission goes out: "Declaring an IFE (in flight emergency); request immediate return to base for landing."
Moments before the troubling exclamations occurred, the flight crew of the massive C-5M Super Galaxy was settling into their duties after taking-off from Dover AFB, Delaware. Conversations had waned as each crewmember focused on mission tasks at hand while taking the aircraft for its first functional check flight since undergoing isochronal (heavy) maintenance at Dover. And then it happened; smoke in the cockpit...again!
December: Winter is coming...eventually
Though Jon Snow's fate is uncertain, one thing is certain for us; ice, snow, frigid cold and bone piercing winds are only a few weeks away; for winter is coming.
The 2015/2016 winter season is upon us, so what is forecasted for Dover AFB, and how can you better prepare for it? Furthermore, what steps is Team Dover taking to ensure your safety and the success of the mission?
We hope you have a happy and safe New Year, and look forward to continue telling the stories of our Liberty Wing reservists.
- 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs -