A look back at 2019 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

  • Published
  • By Amy Rollins
  • Skywrighter Staff

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Throughout 2019, there were many significant milestones achieved by numerous organizations across Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Here are some of the milestones, events, awards and other things that contributed to the overall success of missions:

Milestones

To honor its history of strength through support to fuel aerospace innovation, the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB celebrated its 75th anniversary April 26 at the Wright-Patterson Club. The event was hosted by Col. Thomas Sherman, 88 ABW and installation commander.

On a typical work day, Ohio’s largest single-site employer welcomes 30,000 people through its gates. They are scientists, engineers and program managers — experts in their fields. They are active-duty military, guard, reserve, government civilians and contractors.

One hundred and 15 mission partner organizations are dedicated to defending the nation and ensuring that its people live in peace and freedom.

At Wright-Patterson, the foundation for this diverse team’s success is the 88th Air Base Wing. For 75 years, the 88th and its predecessors have provided the strength through support to fuel aerospace innovation.

■  About 150 homes in the Prairies at Wright Field housing area were damaged, 12 of which were deemed uninhabitable, after an EF3 tornado swept through the Prairies at Wright Field housing area late on May 27. Damage to facilities on Area A and Area B at Wright-Patterson AFB was minimal, and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force sustained damage to one section of the Early Years Gallery; however, no static aircraft or artifacts were harmed. Working with the privatized housing contractor, base officials inspected all units to identify structural damage, and displaced families were directed to temporary lodging facilities to ensure they had a safe place to stay during recovery operations. Volunteers from across the base worked with the housing contractor and the 88th Civil Engineer Group throughout the day following the storm to clear downed trees and debris that covered that area. By the end of the day, all roads were cleared for traffic, and electrical service was safely restored.

■  During his visit to Wright-Patterson AFB May 31, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein took the time to tour the damage to the Properties of Wright Field. The privatized housing near the base took damage from an EF3 tornado that hit the community May 26. After seeing how well the clean-up of the housing area was going, Goldfein said, “I give a lot of credit to the relationship we have built between that trifecta which is an engaged commander, the government representative and the privatized housing contractor that takes ownership of the families that have been entrusted to their care.” About 150 houses were damaged and displaced nine families in the Prairies housing area.

■  The Air Force Institute of Technology celebrated its centennial Nov. 7 with a symposium carrying a theme of inspiration to innovation. Multiple speakers and a panel of astronauts who are AFIT graduates were the morning session’s highlights. The symposium’s afternoon session was devoted to many other speakers, with the day concluding in an awards and recognition banquet to recognize the achievements of alumni and contributions of faculty and staff.

Events

■  Gen. Arnold Bunch Jr. assumed leadership of the Air Force Materiel Command during a ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force May 31.

■  Updates on key Air Force aircraft, systems and technology were on the agenda at the fourth annual Life Cycle Industry Days hosted by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center June 19-21. Attendees heard from and interacted with senior leaders and experts about issues facing the Air Force fleet and current and future requirements. A variety of interactive panel discussions on topics such as agile development operations, supply chain management, innovation and readiness were open to attendees as well.

■  The 75th anniversary of D-Day was commemorated June 6 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force with a host of activities and D-Day and World War II veterans participating. A wreath-laying ceremony in the museum’s Memorial Park, preceded by a flyover of a pair of C-47 transport aircraft, kicked off the remembrance of the sacrifices made on June 6, 1944, in Normandy, France, site of the largest amphibious assault in history.

■  Dr. Mark Esper chose Wright-Patterson AFB as his first Air Force base to visit as Secretary of Defense Oct. 4-5. The new secretary of Defense engaged Airmen and commanders during a whirlwind visit, including discussions with Gen. Arnold Bunch Jr., AFMC commander, and visits to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center and National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

■  Col. Parker Wright, commander of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, hosted the center’s first-ever induction ceremony Oct. 25 in honor of NASIC’s newest chief scientist Duane Harrison. Harrison became only the eighth person to fill the role in NASIC’s 102-year history. As chief scientist, Harrison is responsible for guiding the 4,000-person center’s analytic production mission, ensuring timely delivery of relevant intelligence to Air Force and joint operation warfighters, acquisition and force modernization communities, and senior defense and intelligence community policymaking customers.

■  The team behind the Air Force’s Transition Accelerator hosted its first-ever Demo Day pitch event April 5, featuring a group of eight technology companies pitching their innovative solutions to real Air Force problems to a live audience. The event was the highlight of 10 weeks of effort with eight Small Business Innovation Research companies from AFRL.

■  Air Force Research Laboratory’s junior scientists and engineers showcased their state-of-the-art research and sought mentors from industry, academia and government partners at AFRL’s Advanced Science & Technology Symposium, May 29. This event was hosted by the AFRL Junior Force Council in collaboration with the Wright Brothers Institute.

■  Nearly 600 people attended the 14th annual Dayton Defense Wright Dialogue with Industry event July 16-18. The event provided AFRL leaders, scientists and engineers an opportunity to engage with not only Ohio companies but industry representatives from across the nation as well.

New faces

■  Chief Master Sgt. Stanley C. Cadell, AFMC command chief

■  Chief Master Sgt. Troie Croft, AFLCMC command chief

■  Brig. Gen. (Dr.) James Dienst, commander, AFRL’s 711th Human Performance Wing

■  Brig. Gen. Ryan Britton, director, AFLCMC Presidential & Executive Airlift Directorate

■  Brig. Gen. Brian Bruckbauer, director, Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate

■  Col. Paul C. Burger, 88th Mission Support Group commander

■  Col. Theresa Goodman, commander, United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine

■  Dr. Michael Gregg, director, AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate

■  Capt. Nimfa Teneza-Mora, commander, Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton

Awards/Recognition

■  Senior Master Sgt. James F. Hoy was presented with the Bronze Star Medal, 1st oak leaf cluster, Jan. 11. Hoy was recognized for his meritorious achievement as superintendent, Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States from June 2017 to May 2018.

■  Dr. Sheldon (Lee) Semiatin, AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and is only one of a handful of AFRL alumni ever elected.

■  AFRL’s Automatic Integrated Collison Avoidance System team, along with Lockheed Martin and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, were awarded the 2019 Aviation Week Laureate Award for
safety in the defense category March 14.

■  Dr. Adam Pilchak, AFRL, received Jaap Schijve award, presented by The Netherlands Aerospace Centre NLR and Delft University of Technology to promote the disciplines of fatigue and damage tolerance for aerospace applications. The award is based on technical contributions to the advancement of the field of aeronautical fatigue.

■  The 88th Medical Group’s Maternal Child Care Inpatient Flight received accolades for its outstanding care and services for parents and their new bundles of joy. On top of being awarded the Maternity Care Best Practice, Squadron Large Team of the Quarter and the Group Aim High award, the MCCIF was also recognized as the Most Breastfeeding Supportive Hospital Unit by the Ohio Lactation Consultant Association for outstanding work in promoting and supporting breastfeeding. In addition, satisfaction surveys have shown that year to date, 100 percent of the patients at the MCCIF would recommend the facility to family and friends.

■  The Cost Analysis team for AFLCMC’s Rapid Sustainment Office has been named the winner of the Greater Dayton Chapter of International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association’s 2019 Team Achievement Award. The team was honored for their work in quickly collecting data, building cost estimates, comparative analyses, and identifying the applicable funding appropriations to support the RSO’s fiscal year 2021 program objective memorandum submittal.

■  Dr. Carl Tilmann, principal scientist, AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate, Aerospace Vehicles Division, was named a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Designation as an ASME fellow recognizes “exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession.” The title of fellow has been awarded to only about 2 percent of more than 130,000 ASME members.

■  Dr. Meir Pachter was selected as AFIT’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management’s newest distinguished professor. This distinction is reserved for individuals who have displayed exceptional, lifelong performance and achievement as a graduate school faculty member. Pachter is an internationally recognized expert in the Air Force mission-critical area of intelligent autonomous control and navigation of aerospace systems with a current focus on unmanned aerial vehicles and air-to-air operations. He has published more than 100 refereed journal articles and has received more than $2.3 million in research funding, primarily from AFRL.

■  AFIT was redesignated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security through academic year 2024. AFIT is one of eight Ohio colleges and universities to earn this distinction, joining a group of more than 275 schools across the country. To obtain the re-designation, AFIT demonstrated continued cyber defense efforts in research initiatives by faculty and students, publications, Ph.D. student production and research funding.

■  Segrid Harris was selected by Career Communications Group Inc. to receive the Managerial Leadership in Government Award at the 24th Annual Women of Color STEM Conference. Harris is the Materials Integrity branch chief, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL. The branch provides materials/processing consultation services to numerous product centers, air logistics complexes and operational commands.

■  Dr. James Joo, Capt. Dharyl Monsalud and Dr. Vikas Varshney of AFRL were recognized by the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers in 2019:

** Joo, Advanced Structural Concepts team lead, won the Engineer/Scientist of the Year award

** Monsalud, deputy chief of the Combustion Devices Branch, received the Technical/Research/Business Achievement award

** Varshney, of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, won the award for professional achievement.

■  Dr. Daniel Garmann, AFRL’s Laboratory Aerospace Systems Directorate, was honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers at a July 25 ceremony in Washington, D.C. Garmann, a senior research aerospace engineer, is an expert in the modeling, simulation and behavior of air flows and their effect on the control and performance of aircraft. His work impacts vehicles from across the spectrum, from unmanned aircraft systems, to fighter jets, to hypersonic platforms.

■  AFRL had winners in the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation Great Minds in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Heroes Award for 2019. GMiS is a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping America technologically strong by promoting STEM careers, especially in underserved communities.

■  Dr. Hilmar Koerner, research team lead in AFRL’s Structural Materials Division, was chosen as a 2019 fellow of the American Ceramic Society for his exceptional contributions and accomplishments in the science and technology community.

■  Dr. Benji Maruyama and Dr. John Russell, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, were named AFRL fellows for 2019. Maruyama was nominated in the research achievement category. He is a principal materials research engineer and leader of the Flexible Materials and Processes Research Team in the Functional Materials Division.

Russell was nominated in the program and organizational leadership category. He is the chief engineer of the Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies Division. In this role, he leads the division’s engagement with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to identify critical manufacturing needs.

■  A team of AFRL scientists and engineers was selected for a 2019 Defense Innovation Award for its portable door lock technology, a set of solutions designed to secure or barricade most door styles in the event of an active shooter situation.

■  The Memphis Belle, one of the most recognizable symbols of World War II, was named by the U.S. Air Force History and Museums Program as a recipient of the 2019 Air Force Heritage Award for its restoration by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

■  Two teams from AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate were recognized with the 2020 Aviation Week Network Laureate Award in the category of Defense:

■  Medium Scale Critical Components team has been honored in the Propulsion subcategory. Comprising researchers and technicians from the AFRL Aerospace Systems Directorate, Arnold Engineering Development Complex, and Northrop Grumman Corp., the team recently set a record for the highest thrust produced by an air-breathing hypersonic engine in U.S. Air Force history.

■  The Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie team was honored in the Technology and Innovation subcategory. The team, which partners AFRL and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc., proved that low cost can be achieved while maintaining high performance. The XQ-58A is the pathfinder for the attritable class of aircraft that provides the warfighter the capability to project air power with mass, complexity and unpredictability.

Community Engagement

Wright-Patterson AFB is the community and the community is Wright-Patterson AFB. Airmen from across the base provide thousands of volunteer hours to various private and public organizations and schools throughout the area. Our community partners reciprocate and provide 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.

Constructions/Facilities

■  Wright-Patterson Medical Center began renovations Feb. 1 to improve the structural foundation of the main lobby, overhead ceiling and atrium, and to upgrade the overall appearance of the facility. The construction will be completed in three phases and is expected to run through March 2020.

■  Numerous personnel celebrated the grand re-opening of Rockers Lounge at the Wright-Patterson Club Feb. 8. Various renovations were made. The lounge was originally a place designated for enlisted personnel but is now open to all ranks.

■  A ground-breaking ceremony for the first-ever shared Above-Secret Department of Defense super computer facility was held Feb. 26. The ability to share supercomputers at higher classification levels will allow programs to get their supercomputing work done quickly while maintaining necessary security.

■  AFIT leadership, along with staff members with the longest and the shortest time with AFIT, and representatives of the student body and the Ohio Air National Guard Red Horse detachment, cut the ribbon of the institute’s pavilion May 23 on Hobson Way, Area B. The Red Horse detachment demolished the old pavilion and built the new one as a training opportunity for its members.

■  AFRL’s Gaming Research Integration for Learning Laboratory celebrated not only its new location but also a new partnership with the Dayton Regional STEM School in a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 7. The GRILL’s new space is part of the local STEM school’s 30,000-square-foot expansion, which also includes five classrooms, a science laboratory, an assembly space and the Vectren Innovation Laboratory.

■  Wright-Patterson AFB has another avenue for employees and visitors to get on base now that the newly constructed gate 26A is open for traffic flow for commercial and passenger vehicles after an official ribbon cutting Nov. 13. The new gate is located along State Route 235 in Area A and connects to Loop Road. It acts as the commercial vehicle inspection area, replacing Gate 16A.

■  The Wright-Patterson Medical Center has earned ENERGY STAR certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 2019. This recognition is awarded to buildings that outperform 75 percent of similar buildings nationwide. This is the first year that WPMC has earned the ENERGY STAR.

Education

■  AFIT entered the category of High Research Activity for a doctoral university from the 2018 update of the Carnegie classification. AFIT is the only Department of Defense academic institution to hold this specific categorization. To qualify for the doctoral university High Research Activity classification, an institution must award at least 20 research-based doctoral degrees per year and report at least $5 million in total research expenditures.

■  Lt. Col. James Rutledge, Ph.D., P.E., is AFIT’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management’s first permanent senior military faculty member. In this role, Rutledge can remain in the position as an active-duty lieutenant colonel until he separates, retires or makes full colonel.

■  AFIT’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management awarded 234 advanced degrees March 21. The graduating class included 203 Air Force officers, two Air Force non-commissioned officers, eight Army officers, two Marine Corps officers and 15 civilians. The school also graduated three international students from Australia and Brazil. The Graduate School awarded 214 master’s degrees and 20 doctorate degrees in science, technology, engineering and math fields. One graduate received dual master’s degrees.

■  AFIT welcomed 200 students from local schools to participate in the annual “Demo Days” in recognition of National Engineers Week. Sponsored by DiscoverE, a coalition of academic, industry and professional organizations, National Engineers Week is a nation-wide effort to celebrate and promote engineering. Universities across the country host engineering-related activities. AFIT students and faculty hosted hands-on demonstrations that showcased a wide range of the school’s facilities.

■  About 130 students and teachers from nine local schools participated in AFRL’s 7th annual Full Throttle STEM at Eldora Speedway May 14. The students, who ranged in age from 9 to 18, showcased projects such as computer on a wall, hearing aids for children, as well as various gaming and virtual reality projects. The event culminated in RC and autonomous car races outside in the Eldora Speedway concourse.

Technology

■  To improve aircrew safety and save lives, AFLCMC’s Agile Combat Support Directorate is fielding 12,000 new personnel locator beacons to aircrews in most fixed wing aircraft across the Air Force fleet. Known as the URT-46, the beacons are being installed in ejection seats and parachutes and are designed to help search and rescue teams locate aviators in the event they eject or bail out/exit their aircraft during flight.

■  Scientists and engineers from AFRL highlighted technology advancements in 13 research areas in various stages of maturity during the third biennial Department of Defense Lab Day April 25 in the Pentagon center courtyard. DOD Lab Day is a showcase event to highlight the innovative work performed by scientists and engineers within the Defense Laboratory Enterprise, which includes defense laboratories, warfare centers and engineering centers across the world. The event presents an opportunity for the labs to display the groundbreaking work developed throughout the DOD to benefit the warfighter.

■  AFRL along with research partners at Los Alamos National Laboratory, is working to change the shape of materials technology with a breakthrough development that could open up a new range of possibilities for the military and beyond. Through an Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded basic research effort, the collaborative team developed a 3-D printed, polymer-based foam structure that responds to the force of a shock wave to act as a one-way switch, a long-sought-after goal in shock research.

■  AFRL has developed liquid metal systems that autonomously change structures so they become better conductors in response to strain. Conductive materials change their properties as they are strained or stretched. Typically, electrical conductivity decreases and resistance increases with stretching. The material recently developed by AFRL scientists, called Polymerized Liquid Metal Networks, does just the opposite. These liquid metal networks can be strained up to 700 percent, autonomously respond to that strain to keep the resistance between those two states virtually the same and still return to their original state. It is all due to the self-organized nanostructure within the material that performs these responses automatically.

■  On June 25, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket successfully launched AFIT’s Space Object Self-Tracker into low Earth orbit. The third of AFIT’s space systems to reach orbit, SOS was entirely designed, manufactured and tested by faculty, staff and students within AFIT’s Center for Space Research and Assurance. SOS is a hosted instrument on NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission spacecraft.

■  The XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator, a low-cost unmanned air vehicle, successfully completed all test objectives during a 71-minute flight June 11 at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona. The test marked the second successful flight for the aircraft this year. The inaugural 72-minute flight was recorded in March. AFRL developed the low-cost unmanned air vehicle together with Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. The joint effort falls within AFRL’s Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology portfolio, which has the goal to break the escalating cost trajectory of tactically relevant aircraft.

■  An innovative water decontamination technology tested at Wright-Patterson AFB was selected for further development. The Enhanced Contact Plasma Reactor completed a two-week field demonstration Sept. 25. The plasma reactor demo was funded by the Air Force Civil Engineer Center to identify potential cost-effective and sustainable environmental solutions for cleaning groundwater containing perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid. The Air Force announced the plasma reactor’s field demonstration Nov. 5.

Readiness & Training

■  The 88 ABW participated in a base readiness assessment Oct. 7-11, which AFMC requires twice a year to assess how well a military base responds to short-notice, mass deployments. The readiness assessment kicked off with a deployment processing line, issuing Individual Protective Equipment and Mission Oriented Protective Posture gear to protect against chemical or biological agents. They then enacted a boots-on-the-ground simulated exercise at the Warfighter Training Center. Airmen demonstrated how well they knew how to act in a chemically contaminated environment and still perform Post Attack and Reconnaissance checks. Searching for simulated unexploded ordinance, performing self-aid buddy care to simulated casualties, coordinating communication routes, monitoring chemical or biological contamination and defending the compound against simulated enemy force actors were all accomplished.

■  Thunderous smoke bombs activated, simulated attacks commenced, and Airmen scrambled to action as more than 80 members of the 445th Airlift Wing participated in an annual Agile Combat Support exercise April 5-7. 445 AW members deployed to a simulated bare-base location at the Warfighter Training Center to hone their skills.

■  Quarterly Focus Week trainings offered free continued professional and personal development.

■  Quarterly base-wide exercises saw emergency personnel and others actively responding to a range of installation-wide, as well as unit-specific, events.

■  Wright-Patterson AFB supported an international search and rescue exercise with the arrival of an Australian aircraft and specialists June 2-7. A Royal Australian Air Force C-17A offloaded the Australian Emergency Management Agency’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force’s 50 personnel and their gear June 1 to participate in the Shaken Fury 2019 exercise. Personnel from the 88th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 88th Operations Support Squadron, 88th Security Forces Squadron and 88th Air Base Wing supported the Australians’ arrival and unloading. After touching down, the Australian task force then traveled by land to the exercise site located at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center near Butlerville, Indiana.

Funding & Saving Initiatives

■  Sometimes it takes an outsider’s perspective to discover a new way of thinking about a work process to make it more efficient and effective in execution. For the AFMC Continued Process Improvement team, the “outsider perspective” is the heart and soul of their Air Force mission, which is to help AFMC teams to improve functions and processes across the command footprint. The goal of Air Force CPI is to eliminate waste and maximize value so that Airmen and civilians are able to be more efficient and effective in their jobs.

■  Wright-Patterson AFB facilities are on the right track, according to the results from several weeks of the 88th Civil Engineer Group’s energy audit and the energy savings performing contracts when it comes to energy savings. So far both have shown efficiency work that facility managers have completed on the base.

While auditing the 88th Medical Center, CE noted exactly how clean the mechanical rooms were, something that greatly contributes to the energy efficiency of the equipment that operates in those environments. Cleanliness can make the variable frequency drives of those motors operate more efficiently, which results in less power used.

■  Contracting, financial and technical personnel from across the Air Force awarded more than 160 contracts to small businesses valued at $58 million during a five-day Pro-Bowl Sprint led by AFRL at the AFWERX Innovation Hub in Austin, Texas, Feb. 25 to March 1. Twenty-five professionals from Wright-Patterson, Kirtland and Eglin Air Force Bases, as well as from AFRL’s Information Directorate in Rome, New York, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in Arlington, Virginia, participated in the Pro-Bowl Sprint, an exercise aimed at streamlining and enhancing the contract award process.

Miscellaneous

■  AFRL launched a new podcast to bring listeners behind the scenes with the Air Force scientists, engineers and professionals who are developing tomorrow’s technology today. “Lab Life” provides listeners insight into the fascinating work and lives of the people who lead the discovery, development and delivery of warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace forces.

■  The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has a new museum app now available to download within USAF Connect, which is an Air Force-wide mobile app designed to enable, engage and empower Airmen by centralizing and increasing access to Air Force information. The app consolidates multiple resources in a single location, easing public access to information, news, social media, exhibits, events calendar and more.

■  In recognition of the growing number of foreign military sales construction projects overseas and the increasing impact the projects have on the total FMS enterprise, the Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate elevated its Construction Branch to the division level. With the change, the new division will receive additional resources, including more people to work with program offices and manage projects around the world.

■  AFRL in partnership with AFLCMC, has achieved its goal of establishing a test site within one hour of Wright-Patterson AFB from which AFRL researchers can fly unmanned aerial vehicles from beyond their visual line of sight. AFRL and the Ohio Department of Transportation are now operating new technology known as SkyVision at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. The technology allows for safe, accurate and effective operation of unmanned aircraft systems by detecting and avoiding other aircraft while in flight using radar feeds from airports in Dayton and Columbus and from the long-range radar at London, Ohio. SkyVision can be described as an air traffic control system for UAS.

■  A new division in AFRL’s 711th Human Performance Wing was activated May 1. The Warfighter Medical Optimization Division becomes one of five divisions in 711 HPW’s Airman Systems Directorate. The new division is comprised of about 100 personnel — military members, DOD civilians and contractors. Most are located at Wright-Patterson AFB, and some are located at two Center for the Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills, or C-STARS, locations in Baltimore and Cincinnati. Personnel were pulled together from both the Airman Systems Directorate and USAFSAM.

■  Officials from AFLCMC and the University of Dayton Research Institute accepted delivery of a C-130 aircraft from Eglin AFB, Florida, at UDRI’s headquarters building May 15. The aircraft, which has been decommissioned, will be used to demonstrate and test technologies designed to lower the cost of sustaining the Air Force’s C-130 fleet. Work will be performed in and on the aircraft as well as in other UDRI support labs.

■  Seven people from AFRL technology directorates across the country presented inspiring talks at the fourth AFRL Inspire event in front of more than 500 attendees. Sponsored by AFRL’s Learning Office, Inspire showcases the innovative ideas and passionate people AFRL has to offer as they provide entertaining and thought-provoking talks. This year’s Inspire event, themed, “Breaking the Status Quo,” also highlighted advancements in 16 different research areas as part of AFRL’s Tech Expo.

■  AFLCMC’s Fighters and Bombers Directorate officially opened on July 9 a new $1.5 million facility essential in protecting weapon systems from cyber threats and mitigating cyber vulnerabilities across the Air Force fighters and bombers fleet.

■  Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, officially stood up the Program Executive Office for Advanced Aircraft during an Oct. 2 ceremony at Wright-Patterson AFB. The new office was created to transform the Next Generation Air Dominance Program into the Air Force’s Digital Century Series initiative, using digital engineering, modular opens systems architecture and agile software development to design advanced airplanes faster and enter production with a significantly lower learning curve. The AFLCMC-aligned office is being led by Col. Dale White.

■  Sarah Lomax, an operations research analyst with AFLCMC’s Operations Research Division, recently developed a program to manage traffic flow onto Wright-Patterson AFB and help minimize congestion on the way to the office. The program, known as the Gate Simulation Model, is designed to assist the 88th Security Forces Squadron in determining the manpower and lanes needed to facilitate the efficient and smooth flow of vehicles onto base. In developing the Excel-based program, Lomax relied on academic queuing theory and data from a recent traffic study.

■  AFRL Commander Maj. Gen. William Cooley signed a memorandum of understanding with leaders from the other Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security service laboratories Oct. 28, following a “Laboratory Commanders Sync” meeting between the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. The MOU outlines terms for an expanded working relationship between the service labs marked by cooperation and collaboration in a broad range of activities, especially in areas of mutual benefit.

■  Wright-Patterson AFB joined the Purple Heart Trail community as the first active-duty Purple Heart Base after its public designation ceremony Dec. 10. In order for the Purple Heart to be awarded to someone, the person must have served with one of the U.S. Armed Services’ branches after April 5, 1917, and also been wounded, killed or died from a wound sustained as a result of military operations while on a peacekeeping mission outside of the U.S. and its territories. With this designation Wright-Patterson AFB joins a community dedicated to helping veterans wounded in combat and will soon add more designated parking spaces for Purple Heart recipients.

Sports, fitness, volunteering are base hallmarks

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base personnel, as individuals or team members, rose to many challenges during 2019. Here’s a look at the past 12 months of sports, health and volunteering events and activities at Wright-Patt:

Sports, fitness and awareness events

■  The increasingly popular sport of log rolling was introduced by Wright-Patterson AFB’s Outdoor Recreation. The sport is growing from its roots in northern states like Minnesota and Wisconsin and is spreading throughout universities, recreation centers and military bases, according to Kaley Bartosik, Outdoor Recreation director.

■  The U.S. Air Force Marathon went green in 2019 with environmental initiatives designed to minimize waste, improve conservation and give back to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base community. The marathon used recyclable heat sheets at both the start and finish spaces and trash stations where trained volunteers sorted trash to reduce the amount sent to landfills. All leftover food was donated, and compostable waste used for improving the local soil. Other initiatives, such as utilizing signage either made from 100-percent consumable waste or 100-percent recyclable, are part of a larger three-year plan. The Council for Responsible Sport awarded silver-level certification to the Air Force Marathon for its efforts in taking environmental action to minimize waste and improve conservation.

■  The 21st annual Blue Streak season continued the second Tuesday of each month from April through October. Riders cycled a 10-mile course along the Area A flight line at Wright-Patterson AFB. Many base employees, military and civilian, participated in Blue Streak each month, with overall participation exceeding 130 in good weather. Other riders came from as far away as Morgantown, West Virginia, to ride.

■  The Wright-Patterson First Sergeants, Chaplain Corps and Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Office teamed up to host a dodgeball tournament in conjunction with April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

■  Hundreds of people from the base community and public gathered April 16 for the annual International Fair to get a taste of the cultures, crafts, clothing, folklore and cuisine of many of the base’s partner nations. The popular fair was hosted by the International Spouses’ Group and many of the foreign liaison officers stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB.

■  The USO Center at Wright-Patterson celebrated its third anniversary of taking care of Airmen and other service members. Intended for all branches of active-duty military, Guard, reservists and their families, the organization serves as a “home away from home,” plus it provides donated household goods, clothing, uniforms and children’s items from its Airman’s Attic.

■  The 88th Civil Engineer Group, the National Park Service, along with students and faculty from Fairborn High School teamed up to celebrate Arbor Day for the third consecutive year April 11 at the Wright Brothers Memorial, Dayton.

■  The 88th Civil Engineer Group environmental branch, volunteers from around the base and local park and recreation members came out to support efforts for Earth Day events at various locations on and near Wright-Patterson AFB. Each day had a different location and project, spanning from picking up litter to planting monarch waystations and trees for pollinators.

■  For the past six years, the Wright Field Fitness Center has hosted a Fit Fest in conjunction with National Health and Fitness Day. This year’s event on May 16 featured a 5K run, powerlifting and Olympic lifting competition, a running clinic, prizes, giveaways and health assessments. About 1,700 participants came through the fitness center.

■  The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program at Wright-Patterson hosted a free Operation Street Smart event May 21 at the Base Theater for people interested in learning how to combat drug and alcohol abuse by today’s youth. Two experts from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, which created Operation Street Smart in July 2002 as a way to take community-oriented policing to a new level, were presenters.

■  Hydrorider aqua cycling is new to the Miami Valley and offered exclusively at Dodge Fitness Center. Using the Dodge’s indoor pool, 12 stationary Hydrorider aqua bikes are lowered into 4 feet of water for morning and lunchtime aqua cycling classes. These classes are free and available to individuals with base access.

■  A pleasant afternoon during at the Wright Brothers Memorial was an ideal setting for the third annual Pollinator Expo June 19. Hundreds of base personnel and members of the public visited about 30 booths with live demonstration hives, beekeepers making demonstrations, conservancy districts, natural resources proponents, a food truck and family-friendly activities. The expo was coordinated by the 88th Civil Engineer Group.

■  The 88th Medical Group was selected by NASCAR for a special honor. As part of the NASCAR Salutes weekend at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers showcased the names of active military units and installations on their race car windshields during the Circle K Firecracker 250 Powered by Coca-Cola held on July 5. Team Penske’s Austin Cindric and the No. 22 Pirtek Ford Mustang displayed the 88th Medical Group banner across the windshield during the race.

■  Twenty Air Force Academy cadets helped the Therapeutic Riding Institute prepare its new Spring Valley location for operations July 6. The cadets were visiting Wright-Patterson AFB as part of a U.S. Air Force Academy immersion program designed to provide cadets with a greater understanding of different Air Force missions and the multitude of career paths available. Community service is part of the academy experience, with cadets averaging 30,000 volunteer hours per year.

■  It is part of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base mission to develop new leaders, wings and ways of thinking, but the Wright-Patterson Medical Center Garden is cultivating growth from the ground up. Initially a food clinic organized for a medical center study on diabetic and pre-diabetic therapy, the 100-by-100-foot plot, a few boxes of seeds and a handful of volunteers bloomed into a base garden that supports and becomes community.

■  A one-of-a-kind Air Force Materiel Command employment initiative has entered its second successful year, bringing job opportunities and growth for college graduates who might otherwise face challenges when looking for work in today’s competitive job market. The Autism at Work program, a collaboration between AFMC and Wright State University, offers students and recent graduates with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum the opportunity to participate in paid, one-year internships across the Wright-Patterson AFB footprint.

■  The Wright-Patterson AFB Chapel community sent foster kids back to their classrooms in style in the fall. Congregation members from the Kittyhawk Chapel and Prairies Chapel collected 500 pairs of shoes and socks in just three weeks for children protected by the Montgomery County Children’s Center.

■  The 88th Logistics Readiness Squadron was an integral part of the Aug. 23 cargo shipment to the people of Haiti, by prepping more than 50 tons of food and water for transportation. Utilizing a C-17 Globemaster III, the 88th Logistics Readiness Squadron made the humanitarian mission a reality, in conjunction with the 15th Airlift Squadron, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and local charity Hope Boxes. Through the Denton Program, the squadron is a port for non-profit organizations to bring their cargo to be loaded and placed on the aircraft for it to be transported.

■  For six years, the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Sensors Directorate has held a 9/11 commemoration event to honor those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks and in the global War on Terror since that day. This year’s events began the morning of Sept. 11 in the circle in front of Bldg. 620, Area B, with a personal ceremony that included a military formation roll call, posting of the colors and singing of the national anthem.

■  Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is clamping down on paper recycling in a base-wide effort to reduce the installation’s impact on the environment. The new policy requires 100 percent of the paper and cardboard used on base to be recycled. In addition to recycling paper and paper products, this policy also mandates the use of the Recycling Center’s shredding service for documents containing controlled unclassified information, Personally identifiable information and For Official Use Only information.

Volunteer and community outreach

■  The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force celebrated its 37th annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet April 5 during which more than 600 volunteers were honored. David Hills of Miamisburg, Ohio, was selected as the Museum Volunteer of the Year for 2018 for his dedication and excellence in serving the museum and the U.S. Air Force.

■  Airman 1st Class Morgan Reid, an air traffic controller, landed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for her first assignment. She hit the ground running and set out to find an opportunity to give back to the community. In her search she came across Chicktime, an all-women’s charity that serves local underprivileged children by teaching them valuable skills and providing them with love and support. Chicktime brings together like-minded women who empower each other and children to break the cycle of abuse. As the Dayton chapter leader, Reid has garnered a rotation of 60 volunteers who host monthly workshops.

■  Celebrating its 75th year making a positive contribution to the quality of life within the WPAFB community, the Wright-Patterson Officers’ Spouses Club finished its 2018-2019 year with $50,000 in charitable donations to the base community, local surrounding communities, national organizations and academic scholarships.

■  Officials from the Beavercreek Township and Beavercreek Fire Department visited Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Dec. 13 to thank the Wright-Patterson Fire Department for its assistance following the May 27-28 tornadoes.

■  A series of tornadoes struck the Miami Valley region the night of May 27-28, ranging in strength from EF0 to EF4, according to the National Weather Service.

■  One of the EF3 tornadoes left a 10-mile path that went through Beavercreek, causing extensive damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure along its path.

■  The Wright-Patterson Fire Department came to the assistance of several local communities immediately following the tornadoes.