Community Engagement
■ Airmen from across the base provided thousands of volunteer hours to various private and public organizations and schools throughout the area. Community partners reciprocated and provided tremendous support in countless ways through military appreciation events at local universities, sporting events, and arts and cultural venues. Events such as Hometown Heroes with the Dayton Dragons; major league football, baseball and hockey sporting events; NCAA collegiate games, including the First Four Hoopla; performing arts at the Victoria Theater, Schuster Center and the Dayton Performance Arts Alliance; and leading new recruits in their oath of enlistment at various venues, have become a staple of the Miami Valley.
■ Wright-Patterson AFB continued strong support of the LEGO League Ohio State Championship, as the base’s Educational Outreach Office in the AFRL is the FLL tournament leader in Ohio, overseeing the statewide program and sponsoring and running the Ohio State Championship. The arena floor at the Ervin J. Nutter Center at Wright State University came alive Feb. 4-5 with the noise of hundreds of enthusiastic student competitors, supporters and volunteers.
■ More than 50 military and civilian volunteers visited the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center to pass out bags of Valentines to veterans during the annual Valentines for Vets event Feb. 14. Veteran patients in various clinics were greeted with warm smiles and handshakes as they received a bag full of “thank-yous.” The Valentine bags filled with cards and drawings were made by schools, churches, volunteer organizations, veteran groups and individuals to show their gratitude and support for what veterans have done for our country. All VA medical facilities, VA outpatient clinics and state veterans homes observe annually the National Salute to Veterans the week of Valentine’s Day, a day of expressing appreciation to inpatient and outpatient veterans.
■ Looks of wonder and endless possibilities for career choices from STEM fields could be seen in the eyes of students attending AFIT’s Engineers Week event Feb. 22-23 on the AFIT campus at Wright-Patterson AFB. About 300 students from area schools participated.
■ Every year, base firefighters respond to more than 100 emergency calls to support 130 fire departments across five counties in southwestern Ohio. The assistance Wright-Patterson AFB provides to area communities is part of mutual assistance agreements authorized by U.S. Code, DoD and Air Force regulations. Generally, all services are provided at no cost, and mutual assistance works both ways.
Construction/Facilities
■ Construction of Gates 12A and 19B featured enhancements that improved base security and safety of security forces. In March, Gate 19B, the National Road gate, underwent a $1.3 million construction project to enhance and improve the security of the base and safety of security forces. An overhead canopy, similar to the one at Gate 12A, was installed along with six new guard booths. The canopy and new guard booths provide protection against weather and potential security threats. Gate 12A (Air Force Materiel Command HQ gate) reopened Oct. 30 12 days early after upgrades and a repaving project are complete.
■ Workers removed trees from an Adena culture earthwork mound, the oldest structure on Wright-Patterson AFB, in Area B. The Adena culture was one of three distinct mound-building cultures in Ohio, and the tree-clearing project was part of an effort to protect and restore the site to its original state. With the mound now free of trees, the next step is to plant prairie grasses on it as well as the surrounding acreage.
■ Recreational and community facilities – fitness centers, golf courses, Bass Lake and the Wright-Patterson Club – were renovated and upgraded through efforts by the 88th Force Support Squadron.
■ 88 MDG broke ground on a new pharmacy building June 8 near the AAFES Express location in Area A. The 10,000-square-foot facility will feature a more convenient drive-through lane, double the lobby and processing space from the existing Kittyhawk pharmacy and include a robot capable of filling prescriptions at more than twice the current rate. The $10 million contract for the facility allows $6.6 million for construction with another $3.4 million allowed for equipment and furnishings. The Butt Construction Co. of Dayton will build the new pharmacy, with construction scheduled to be complete by October 2018.
■ A more upscale shopping experience, following a five-month closure for upgrades, started in August during a grand reopening of the base’s Thrift Shop at 5265 Miller St., Bldg. 95, near the intersection of Wright Avenue and Allbrook Drive in Area A. All net profits, which amounted to $19,000 in 2016, are donated to the Officers’ Spouses’ Club welfare fund, which helps support different programs in the military and Miami Valley communities.
■ The 788th Civil Engineering Squadron’s Emergency Management Flight opened a brand-new Emergency Operations Center in Area B, providing effective command and control capabilities during crisis situations. EOCs are part of the national response framework and provide critical communications between agencies and first responders during an emergency.
■ NASIC held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of a new foreign materiel exploitation facility Oct. 20. Foreign materiel exploitation is one of the many intelligence production missions at NASIC. FME analysts exploit air, space and cyberspace-related military systems that helps provide the U.S. with a better understanding of potential adversary capabilities. The $29.5 million, 58,000-square-foot addition nearly tripled the size of the existing Watson Hall facility, and doubled the lab space, enabling NASIC to execute its foreign materiel exploitation mission.
Education
■ AFIT’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management awarded 254 master’s (two students earned dual degrees) and two doctorate degrees March 23. The graduating class included three Air Force non-commissioned officers, nine Army, two Marine Corps and 15 civilian students. In addition, one international officer from Argentina received a degree. More than 20 different research areas were represented.
■ Quarterly Focus Week trainings offered free continued professional and personal development.
■ Almost 230 Airmen at Wright-Patterson AFB received their Community College of the Air Force associate degrees May 9 at AFIT’s Kenney Hall. The ceremony included the graduates of both the fall 2016 and the spring 2017 CCAF classes. Eight Airmen earned two degrees. A similar ceremony honored 169 fall CCAF graduates Nov. 16.
■ About 75 students, parents and chaperones from 12 schools and colleges surrounding Wright-Patterson AFB participated in the base’s 2017 STEM – Diversity and Inclusion event Sept. 29 at the base’s Religious Education Facility.
■ AFRL sponsored a team of students from Carroll High School in Dayton to compete in the 2017 iGEM Giant Jamboree Nov. 9-13 in Boston. The team earned a gold medal for its project titled “Engineered Microbes to Sense and Respond to Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli,” an effort to examine this most common form of traveler’s diarrhea, which affects thousands of deployed warfighters. Scientists leading the team were Dr. Nancy Kelley-Loughnane and Dr. Michael Goodson of the 711 HPW.
Technology
■ A new downtown Dayton collaboration site is expected to bolster the two-way flow of innovation for the Air Force. On Jan. 30, Wright Brothers Institute signed a lease for about 8,000 square feet inside 444 E. Second St. in downtown Dayton. Pursuant to its partnership intermediary agreement with WBI, AFRL is a principal utilizer of the property. This put AFRL in a better position to lead, collaborate and innovate.
■ The Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL, signed a cooperative research and development agreement with Creare LLC in order to transfer hardware and software to the Hanover, New Hampshire, company so it can continue important research to develop non-contact inspection methods for aircraft components.
■ AFRL’s 711 HPW signed an educational partnership agreement with Bowling Green State University’s School of Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies due to a mutual interest in the areas of human biomechanics and 3D motion analysis. Under this agreement, AFRL/711 HPW and BGSU collaboratively develop research projects to be conducted at BGSU. The 711 HPW loaned motion analysis equipment to BGSU, which enables BGSU students and faculty to conduct research of benefit to both parties. Several research papers have been published regarding the multiple projects conducted through the equipment loan.
■ AFIT has been utilizing additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, to build prototypes with polymers for more than 30 years. On March 16, its Graduate School of Engineering and Management unveiled a new state-of-the-art metal additive manufacturing system that enables AFIT to digitally fabricate aerospace metal parts. The Concept Laser M2 3D Metal Printer system was a nearly $1 million investment.
■ Certain surgeries at Wright-Patterson Medical Center may now be performed by a surgeon wielding surgical tools via robotic arms, thanks to a $2.4 million device unveiled April 20. The da Vinci Xi surgical robotic system takes care of patients in a minimally invasive and advanced way. Advantages of the system include increased patient satisfaction, shortened length of hospital stay and fewer complications and readmissions, plus smaller surgical incisions. Additional advantages range from “phenomenal” dexterity for the surgeon to less bleeding and other benefits. 88 MDG general surgeons are able to perform operations as diverse as hernia, colorectal and cancer care while base gynecologists use it to provide appropriate incontinence and cancer care for their patients.
Readiness & Training
■ At Wright-Patterson AFB’s C-STARS St. Louis Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills, Air Force medical personnel collaborated with St. Louis University Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center, to offer cutting-edge training for military personnel by using the first-ever Athena simulator utilized in the Department of Defense. The simulator has female features and offers advanced ventilation technology, serving as a vital piece to providing the best medical training possible for students completing the program. C-STARS, a two-week program that trains Air Force medical personnel to the highest caliber in responding to the unique traumas encountered in deployed environments, is one of just three Air Force training centers of its kind.
■ 88 ABW led the charge in sharpening the readiness skills of base personnel, ensuring their capability of supporting contingency and deployment operations both in-garrison and deployed. Quarterly exercise scenarios enhanced skills.
■ The Wright-Patterson AFB airfield in Area A was the scene of daytime and nighttime joint-service paratroop drop training exercises. More than 60 Army and Marine reservists parachuted from an altitude of about 1,250 feet to a drop zone March 11. The event was part of quarterly jump qualification training for the soldiers, primarily from the 412th Civil Affairs Battalion and the 346th Psychological Operations Company, based in Whitehall, Ohio, while a few other soldiers from other commands also participated in the joint exercise that included both day and night jump operations. The airlift support for the exercise was provided by the Marine Corp’s 252 Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron, Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aerial Wing, Marine Corps Air Station, North Carolina, and from the Kentucky Air National Guard unit in Louisville. These types of exercises have not been conducted at the airfield in years.
■ Five U.S. Airmen, including three from Wright-Patterson AFB, conducted a subject matter expert knowledge exchange with Honduran counterparts to share best practices and increase partner nation capacities in aerospace medicine in April. The three-day exchange allowed representatives from the U.S. and Honduran air forces to bridge gaps by sharing knowledge on flight medicine processes, logistics capabilities and shortfalls through an open dialog between medics, doctors, aircrew and pilots to increase medical capacities.
■ Dr. James Schlub, Sustainment, Trauma and Resuscitative Skills program administrator, demonstrated the capabilities of Wright-Patterson Medical Center’s cutting-edge training equipment to visiting Angolan military physicians June 26. The doctors, along with a team from Serbia, were in Ohio for ongoing training in partnership with the National Guard.
■ The Naval Medical Research Unit-Dayton and the AFRL’s 711 HPW joined forces to respond to a number of instances where military pilots have experienced physiologic episodes such as “hypoxia-like” symptoms during flight. Together, the two organizations are leveraging their joint research expertise to answer the most complex aeromedical, environmental health and human performance challenges facing the military today. NAMRU-D has been based at Wright-Patterson AFB since 2010.
■ NASIC Airmen learned from a new exchange program with AFIT. The cross-cultural mentoring program allowed newly hired NASIC personnel awaiting security clearances to assist AFIT professors for a minimum of three months by conducting research for special academic projects and developmental work opportunities. In addition, these personnel learned skill sets to bolster their future careers at NASIC. The program Shades of Success was initiated by NASIC personnel Maj. Robert Bettinger and Kelly Dalton.
■ A group of mid-level military and civilian acquisition professionals from across the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and the Space and Missile Systems Center completed the Advanced Tactical Acquisition Corps program, becoming the third cohort to do so. The team’s challenge/problem statement was to recommend a way for the Air Force acquisition community to institute an agile culture change and implement agile concepts to shorten the accreditation timeline for major acquisition programs while preserving the cybersecurity posture of the system.
Funding & Saving Initiatives
■ The 88th Civil Engineer Directorate received a contract with which it was able to replace and upgrade inefficient lighting in 15 buildings throughout Area B, providing a total annual savings of 883,615 kilowatt hours and more than $53,000 in annual electrical savings.
■ Thanks to a joint effort between the staffs of AFIT’s Academic Library and AFRL’s Technical Library – who together form the D’Azzo Research Library – AFIT students and faculty and AFRL researchers now have access to hundreds more journal titles, conference proceedings and eBooks. Working with the task force members and base contracting, the directors were able to secure collaborative purchases for more than 23 databases and journal collections at a cost savings of more than $382,000 for fiscal 2017.
Miscellaneous
■ A quick, unexpected home birth for a family living in The Prairies housing was met by base emergency responders with aplomb. The professionals from the Emergency Communications Center, 788th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire and Emergency Services Flight’s Station 3 in Area B, along with medics from the Wright-Patterson Medical Center, utilized their training and assisted the mother and father — and baby boy — in their time of need Jan. 26.
■ Researchers from AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate rose to the need in March for the Wright “B” Flyer, helping to ensure continued airworthiness for the historic replica aircraft so near and dear to many in the Dayton area. Wright “B” Flyer Inc., a volunteer organization that operates the replica aircraft, called upon the AFRL Structural Materials Evaluation team following a non-injury incident in 2016 during which an engine cooling fan disk fractured during flight, forcing an emergency landing. The organization’s goal was to determine the exact cause of the failure in order to initiate appropriate repairs and prevent a future occurrence.
■ 88 SFS hosted an Excellence in Competition match for pistol and rifle categories for 168 participants. EICs are Air Force wide competitions, and are open to all active-duty, Guard, Reserve, retiree and civil service employees regardless of their duty location. The pistol competition took place April 3-6 and the rifle match was held April 10-13 in the Combat Arms Training and Maintenance, Bldg. 296, 3950 Newark St., Area A, next door to the main SFS building. An awards presentation was held April 14.
■ Maj. Gen. Duke Richardson, PEO, AFLCMC’s Presidential Airlift Recapitalization Directorate, presented the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization Program Manager charter certificate to Col. Daniel Marticello, PAR program manager, at Wright-Patterson AFB May 19. As the senior materiel leader, Marticello is responsible for assigned acquisition activities for the PAR program, including the planning, strategy development and execution of air vehicle development to ensure the next presidential aircraft meets White House requirements and taxpayer commitments. He reports to the program executive officer for PAR in the execution of his duties and places primary emphasis on performing within approved program cost, schedule and performance baselines.
■ A Warrior Woman Fitness Challenge at Bass Lake was hosted by the Wright-Patterson Special Observance Committee Aug. 16 to celebrate Women’s Equality Day, the anniversary Aug. 26 of the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, marking the women’s suffrage movement’s greatest victory – women achieving full voting rights. The challenge involved participants taking part in physical challenges and learning about people instrumental in women gaining the right to vote.
■ Hundreds of interns working across Wright-Patterson AFB were honored Aug. 10 at an inaugural picnic held at Bass Lake. The work of about 600 interns assigned to AFMC, AFLCMC and AFRL was celebrated with remarks by senior leadership, a picnic lunch and an afternoon of activities and fellowship.
■ Members of the 18th Intelligence Squadron and guests from around the base gathered to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Bldg. 821, located outside Area B near Woodland Hills on the corner of National Road and McClellan Drive. Affectionately known as the Barn, the odd structure was originally purpose-built to study then-cutting edge radar technology in 1947. The 18th Intelligence Squadron has called the Barn home for nearly 20 years.
■ Hundreds of Wright-Patterson AFB members took part in the Run for the Fallen 5K run/2K walk Sept. 11 to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Participants observed the time of significant events from the attack, a moment of silence and then departed on the 5K run/2K walk.
■ A laser-etched, black granite bench honoring Vietnam-era veterans of the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, who came to be known as the “Gunfighters”, was dedicated Sept. 22 at NMUSAF’s Memorial Park.
■ The eighth annual Great Wright Brothers Aero Carnival was held Sept. 9 on Huffman Prairie where the Wright brothers developed the first practical air plane and taught themselves to fly.
■ The base’s annual observance of National POW/MIA Recognition Day was held Sept. 14 outside the Arnold House. The event was coordinated by the base Chiefs Group and the Miami Valley Military Affairs Association. The ceremony included an invocation, moment of silence, retirement of items carried during the 24-hour POW/ MIA Vigil Run and laying of wreaths before the POW/ MIA memorial.
■ 445th Airlift Wing supported Hurricane Irma relief efforts, with an Air Force Reserve C-17 Globemaster III loaded with cargo at Joint Base Dix-McGuire, New Jersey, enroute to MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, Sept. 12. More than 90,000 pounds of cargo was transported to include water, MREs (meals, ready to eat) a forklift and other supplies. The wing began supporting Irma relief efforts Sept. 9, when they transported New York Task Force One to Puerto Rico. C-17s from the 445th flew approximately six missions, airlifting more than 250,000 pounds of cargo and 200 passengers from Sept. 9-14.
■ For their sacrifice and what they’ve endured in the loss of their loved one, Gold Star families, other individuals and Hershel Williams, the last surviving Marine who was awarded a Medal of Honor during World War II, gathered Sept. 28 for a symbolic groundbreaking for a Gold Star Family Memorial Monument at NMUSAF’s Memorial Park. The Hershel “Woody” Williams Medal of Honor Foundation is sponsoring the installation with the support of other organizations like the Marine Corps League, Young Marines, Navy League and Gold Star families.
■ As part of the National Disability Employment Awareness Month at Wright-Patterson AFB, players participated in the 3rd annual Wheelchair Basketball Game Oct. 4 at the Wright-Field Fitness Center in Area B. Reflecting the important role disability plays in workforce diversity, this year’s NDEAM theme was ‘Inclusion Drives Innovation.’
■ Col. David J. Jennison was sworn in as Civil Air Patrol Ohio Wing commander by Great Lakes Region Interim Commander Col. Fred Rosenberg during a ceremony Oct. 14. Jennison is currently an intelligence analyst for the Air Force at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
■ To reduce the number of personnel security investigations backlogged in the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on Oct. 31 became the first installation in the Air Force to host a temporary National Background Investigation Bureau hub. More than 90,000 investigations are currently backlogged in the Air Force. The Dayton region is the third highest region in the United States for backlogged cases with about 2,000 cases currently open. More than 3,000 personnel security investigations are submitted annually from Wright-Patterson AFB.
■ Next-generation military and civilian applications require the ability to transfer more data, faster, at a high level of quality. As the size of devices continue to decrease and unique form factors enter the technology space, researchers are challenged to find material solutions to make more efficient wireless communication a reality. AFRL scientists may just have discovered the key to make this an actuality. By optimizing just six atoms one ten-thousandth the width of a human hair, AFRL experts discovered a new way to grow and transfer Gallium Nitride (GaN) – a material revered for its exceptional ability to power communications systems – laying the groundwork for fifth-generation, high-speed, agile communication systems of the future.
■ Fred Bennett Sr., a patent illustrator at AFMC’s Law Office, achieved an impressive career milestone – 50 years of federal service, honored during a ceremony in front of his colleagues Dec. 12 in Bldg. 11, Area B. Bennett was awarded a 50-year gold pin and certificate noting his service by Thomas Doyon, AFMC Law Office director.
■ A research engineering psychologist at AFRL began his ascent of Mount Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America, Dec. 8 in efforts to gather data on the potential military use of altitude tents as well as the effects of altitude on cognition. Kevin Schmidt, along with a team of researchers from academia and industry, used various AFRL technologies and gear during the climb, including the Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit (BATDOK) system, GPS smart watches from the STRONG Laboratory and a cognitive task battery from the Biophysiology of Stress Laboratory, all of which are within the 7111 HPW. His doctoral research looks for ways to improve human performance as it applies to military missions. Through this research, he seeks to identify new ways to prepare warfighters for deployments in high altitude environments such as the mountains of Afghanistan or to implement cognitive tests to expand pilot training that could equip them should they experience oxygen failure in their cockpits.
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