YEAR IN REVIEW - Wright-Patterson faced a challenging year but strove for excellence

  • Published
  • By Amy Rollins
  • Skywrighter Staff
Every year brings its share of challenges and change to face - and 2014 was no different. Throughout the year, the Skywrighter covered a range of news events, focusing on personnel, programs and projects at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the military and the Dayton area.

"Since my arrival at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in July 2014, I've been part of a team that proves itself every day," said Col. John Devillier, 88th Air Base Wing commander. "They take pride in the knowledge that what they do contributes to the defense of our great nation.

"In 2014, our work force endured challenges ranging from budget reductions, to force management measures to changes in the enlisted evaluation system," Devillier continued. "These will have longterm effects on our Airmen and impact not only them but their families as well.

"Through it all, we continue to support the diverse mission requirements of this installation and, in turn, support the needs of our warfighters," Devillier said. "I'm thankful to work alongside a group of men and women whose commitment and service to our Air Force and our nation is unparalleled."  

Milestones from 2014

› Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger, commander of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), is selected for induction into the AFMC Order of the Sword Sept. 3. The award was established by enlisted forces to recognize and honor senior officers for distinct and significant contributions to the welfare and prestige of the enlisted force, to mission effectiveness, and to the overall military establishment. Wolfenbarger is given surprise notification in front of hundreds of Airmen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, as well as senior leaders from across the command who gather at the base for a senior leader conference at the close of the day's conference sessions. The general's formal induction ceremony is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2015. 

› Lt. Gen. John Thompson assumes command of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) officially on Oct. 2; former commander Lt. Gen. C.D. Moore II retires after serving 38 years.

› Devillier assumes command of the 88 ABW on July 17; former commander Col. Cassie Barlow retires after a 26-year career.

Events

› The first Star Spangled Celebration, combining three regional events, is held June 26-29; the Wright-Patt Freedom's Call fireworks display honors Independence Day and is held at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (NMUSAF).

Personnel Commands assumed:

› Col. Leah Lauder-back - National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC)

› Col. Timothy Ballard - 88th Medical Group

› Chief Master Sgt. Doreen Losacco assumes her position as AFLCMC command chief.

› Chief Master Sgt. Ray DeVite Jr. assumes his position as Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) command chief.

› Maj. William Englebert - 88th Security Forces Squadron

› Local reservist Lt. Col. Matthew Muha - Air Force Reserve Command's 403rd Wing's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. Muha is a senior engineer in the Research Collaboration and Computing Directorate, AFRL's DOD Supercomputing Resource Center.

› Additionally, Maj. Gen. H. Brent Baker Sr. was nominated to become the next vice commander for Headquarters AFMC. Baker, currently director of logistics at Headquarters AFMC, will success Lt. Gen. Andrew Busch, who was selected to become the director of the Defense Logistics Agency at Fort Belvoir, Va.

› Curtis Rowland, NASIC analyst for 32 years, is named the organization's seventh chief scientist, a civilian position equivalent to a one-star general officer.

› 88th Security Forces members lose two of their military working dogs, Arko and Lujza, in February and June, respectively. Ceremonies honor these key military assets.

Awards

› Dr. Peter Collins, associate professor of electrical engineering within the Air Force Institute of Technology's (AFIT) Graduate School of Engineering and Management, is presented with the 2013 Harold Brown Award for his research on weapons systems survivability. The Harold Brown Award is the Air Force's highest award given to a scientist or engineer who applies scientific research to solve a problem critical to the needs of the Air Force.

› The Wright-Patterson AFB Fire Department is notified Feb. 4 by AFMC that it has been selected as Fire Department of the Year (Medium Department).

› Kevin Geiss, director of the Human Effectiveness Directorate, 711th Human Performance Wing, AFRL, is awarded the F. Ward Reilly Leadership Award for his dedication and leadership skills as a Civil Air Patrol squadron commander.

› Naval Medical Research Unit-Dayton is honored with the 2014 When Work Works Award for its use of effective workplace strategies to increase business and employee success. When Work Works is a national project that shares research results on what makes an effective and flexible workplace with the business community.

› Senior Master Sgt. Michael Venning, functional area manager, Directorate of Contracting, Headquarters AFMC, Wright-Patterson AFB, is recognized with the 12 USAF Outstanding Airmen of the Year Award. The award recognizes 12 outstanding enlisted service members who   demonstrate superior leadership, job performance, community involvement and personal achievements.

› Two AFRL engineers at Wright-Patterson AFB are honored Sept. 22 with coveted Service to America medals. Sean Young and Benjamin Tran are electronics engineers with AFRL's Sensors Directorate. The pair is honored as lifesavers for leading the development, testing and deployment of a cutting-edge aerial sensor used to locate and destroy improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan.

› Dr. Richard Vaia, a scientist in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at AFRL, is chosen a 2014 recipient of the Air Force John L. McLucas Basic Research Award. His research group focuses on building composites from nanomaterials.

Construction/ Facilities

› Unneeded former heating plant Bldg. 170, Area A, is demolished as part of the Air Force's goal of reducing square footage on installations where possible.

› The 88th Civil Engineer Group, led by David Perkins, is activated Oct. 9. The group oversees two squadrons: the 88th Civil Engineer Squadron, which focuses on CE operations, and the 788th Civil Engineer Squadron, which focuses on emergency services to include fire department, explosive ordnance disposal and emergency management functions.

› The space shuttle exhibit at the NMUSAF opens to the public Feb. 26. The exhibit, which features NASA's first Crew Compartment Trainer, allows visitors to experience the size and shape of an actual space shuttle orbiter by entering the payload bay and looking into the flight deck and mid-deck levels.

› NMUSAF breaks ground June 3 for its fourth building to house an expanded Space Gallery and more aircraft. The 224,000-square-foot building is scheduled to open to the public in 2016.

› A $3.6 million renovation and equipment upgrade in the radiation oncology department at Wright-Patterson Medical Center means cancer patients will be treated with greater precision in less time. With hardware installation completed in December 2013 and its planning and patient management software upgraded in the spring, the Trilogy Silhouette Linear Accelerator joins a host of other sophisticated radiation technology at the Cancer Care Center. The new machine promises to provide improved tumor targeting and increased normal tissue sparing.

› The Airman Leadership School relocates to the Professional Development Center, Bldg. 1226, Kittyhawk Center, Area A. The new facility offers ALS students a drill pad and computer resource center.

› A unique AFRL Sensors Directorate facility opens officially July 17. The Distributed Sensing Research Range allows AFRL scientists and engineers to develop and explore advanced distributing sensing concepts in a realistic electromagnetic environment.

› The grand opening and ribbon cutting for the new combination Express gas station/ Shopette and Burger King at 2330 Eighth St., Area B, is held Sept. 9. The $5 million-plus project is seeking LEEDS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certified status. The Burger King is distinctive for its "››/››" design and other features and is the first of its kind on a military base/ government entity.

Education

› Wright-Patterson AFB continues its strong support of FIRST Lego League, as the Educational Outreach Office (EOO) is the FLL tournament leader in Ohio, overseeing the statewide program and sponsoring and running the Ohio State Championship. The office provides enrichment in activities related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to Dayton-area students. Teams of students work to build and program a robot to complete a number of tasks in an allotted amount of time.

› Wright State University's Graduate School creates a $750,000 scholarship fund for active-duty military personnel and civilian workers at Wright-Patterson AFB who wish to pursue graduate degrees. The program awards up to $7,500 per individual per year and can be used by spouses and dependent children.

› Quarterly Focus Week trainings offer free continued professional and personal development.

› AFIT bestows a doctoral degree to a noncommissioned officer for the first time in its history. U.S. Army Master Sgt. Jeffery Morris completes his doctorate in systems engineering with research focused on quantum cryptography.

Technology

› AFRL is one of two Department of Defense Supercomputing Resource Centers to receive a Cray XC30 supercomputer. The Cray XC30 supercomputer "Lightning" is able to perform 1.2 quadrillion calculations per second, which translates to 10 to the 15th power, enabling hundreds of users to run jobs simultaneously. (Feb. 28, A1) The $20.8 million Lightning is unveiled Sept. 23.

› AFIT students use their wits, training and adroit typing and computer science skills to defend a special network and attack adversaries during the 6th annual Cyber Defense and Exploitation Hackfest Competition Feb. 13-25. Hackfest is a timed competition event between multiple teams consisting of four competition components.

› Human performance technologies developed by AFRL, along with Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., are on display May 6 as Sam Schmidt, a quadriplegic, drives a car. The test takes place on the 7,500-foot-long runway just south of the NMUSAF.

› Testing conducted by the F-35 Program Office and the 96th Test Wing, Landing Gear Test Facility (LGTF) seeks to extend the life of the aircraft's tires. The field worn tire data assists the F35 Program Office to better predict tire life before fielding the tire, saving significant design time and tire redesign funding, and ultimately leading to better tires making it to the field.

› A multimillion dollar foreign materiel exploitation (FME) laboratory addition to NASIC is given final congressional approval. FME analysts reverse engineer foreign, air, space and cyberspace related military systems to help provide the United States with a better understanding of potential adversary capabilities. The 58,000-square-foot facility will increase the center's technical capability to analyze a growing number of sensitive   exploitation projects, address safety and security risks associated with the current facilities, and improve mission efficiency.

Readiness & Training

› The Air Force Expeditionary Medical Skills Institute at USAFSAM enters into a cooperative research and development agreement with the University of Cincinnati Health and the UC College of Medicine's Department of Emergency Medicine. The agreement provides 12 high-definition medical patient simulators for research and training activity, which will be conducted in a new medical simulation center developed and operated by UC Health at its Cincinnati campus. The agreement will enhance the training of Air Force en route care teams, including the USAFSAM Critical Care Air Transport Team and the Tactical Critical Care Evacuation Team training program.

› 88 ABW leads 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 base hosts a three-day training during which more than 55   personnel from various mobile acute care teams within the National Disaster Medical System sharpen their skills in how to provide care during natural disasters.

› An intensive course launches Oct. 2-3 at Wright-Patterson Medical Center to open the way for children affected by warfare, natural disasters and humanitarian crises to be treated appropriately. In a U.S. military first, the Pediatric Fundamentals of Critical Care Support course is adapted for the armed services by Col. (Dr.) Daniel Bruzzini, a neonatologist and master clinician at Wright-Patterson Medical Center, incorporating medical lessons learned from battlefield hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan. The medical center is collaborating with Nationwide Children's Hospital, Dayton Children's Hospital and Wright State University to offer the high-impact pediatric critical care course within the WPMC Simulation Center to enhance the operational capabilities of the military and the Dayton community to care for critically ill/ injured children when disasters strike.

Initiatives Funding & Saving

› The Air Force Community Partnership Initiative is announced in which public and private entities are able to form a partnership with Wright-Patterson AFB - perhaps even having a building or physical presence on base. One small example is that residents of local communities may become members of the base's Patterson and Prairies pools, helping defray the costs associated with running and maintaining them.

› An Enhanced Use Lease Industry Day is held in June to create awareness of candidate parcels of underutilized base properties being offered by the Air Force for potential development by public or private entities.  

› As Wright-Patterson AFB continues its efforts to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, wood from urban ash trees cut down after being infected by emerald ash borers is sold as firewood.

› Devillier asks the base to join him in pursuing frugality and responsible stewardship of the nation's resources during his initial commander's call on July 31. He emphasizes the money-saving "UnPlugIt" campaign to encourage employees to unplug office equipment on weekends.

› Devillier supports implementation of a 100 percent base-wide recycling policy starting Oct. 1 for all paper and cardboard products. Wright-Patterson AFB's environmental footprint is reduced as revenue is generated by way of selling recyclable materials. Recognizing energy as a mission enabler and energy conservation as a resource force multiplier, Devillier names energy conservation as one of his top five focus areas in his Oct. 9 Commander's Call.

› AFLCMC consolidates and streamlines acquisition processes by transitioning to the One Acquisition Solution for Services (OASIS) Small Business Program, for support in securing professional service needs. The program manages a pool of 40 small businesses, which compete for up to $5 billion in AFLCMC contracts at center locations nationwide over the next five years.

Miscellaneous

› Air Force leadership announces a resumption of force management programs, both military and civilian.

› AFLCMC programs claim two of three 2014 Secretary of Defense Performance-Based Logistics Awards. The system-level award goes to the F-22 System Program Office, which is part of the Fighters/Bombers Directorate located at Wright-Patterson AFB. The Precision Attack System Program Office earns the subsystem level award for the sniper advanced targeting pod. The office is part of the Electronic Warfare and Avionics Division, located at Robins AFB, Georgia, which in turn is part of the Agile Combat Support Directorate.

› Air Force officials announce Nov. 19 that Wright-Patterson AFB and three other bases are candidates to potentially host the headquarters for the new Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center.

› A fourth building at NMUSAF begins to take shape as construction continues. The building, which is being financed by the Air Force Museum Foundation, tentatively will open to the public in 2016.

› The U.S. Band of Flight's Systems Go ensemble returns from deployment to nine countries, performing 71 concerts for more than 12,000 people.

› The Strike Systems Branch of AFLCMC, working in conjunction with U.S. Special Operations Command, delivers the   first AC-130J Ghostrider for its first flight test. Operational tests will begin in the summer of 2015. The first aircraft is slated to be operational in 2017. The mission of the AC-130J Ghostrider is to provide close air support, special operations armed airborne reconnaissance and ordnance delivery to precise targets in support of ground forces.

› Airmen looking for Wright-Patterson AFB events can use a new app, "My Military Communities," or MyMC2, to obtain information on upcoming base events and services. The MyMC2 app is available for free through the Play Store on Android devices and Apple's App-Store on iOS. Once downloaded, users can open the app and select Wright-Patterson AFB as their default community.

› The 14th Intelligence Squadron, an Air Force Reserve Command initiative, is activated May 17. The 14 IS conducts intelligence analysis and assessments for AFMC and supports the 21st Intelligence Squadron, AFLCMC and NASIC.

› AFLCMC's F-22 System Program Office signs a $2 billion contract with Lockheed Martin that allows the company to maintain and repair all F-22 aircraft over the next four years.  

› More than a dozen KC-135R Stratotankers from the 434th Air Refueling Wing, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana, bed down while its 12,500-foot-long runway undergoes a $3.2 million construction project. The wing also brings almost 200 personnel to support its aviation training and alert mission. The main flying mission for the 434 ARW is to provide mid-air refueling to long-range bomber, fighter and cargo aircraft.

› Wright-Patterson AFB ties as the top Air Force base to be stationed among 68 stateside locations, according to the   Air Force Times. The base ties with Scott AFB, Illinois, for the top spot. The Air Force Times cites low housing costs, a large base commissary and exchange and a large medical center. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and the Air Force Marathon were cited as top amenities, also, the report said.

› The F-15 System Program Office turns out July 25 to participate in the 42nd anniversary Gathering of Eagles. Two F-15Cs fly in from Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, to commemorate the anniversary of the first flight of the tactical   support aircraft.

› AFMC activates the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (Provisional) Aug. 8 at the interim location of Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility in Washington, D.C., with Maj. Gen. Theresa Carter serving as commander.

› The work and decades-long contributions of military and combat camera service members to the Air Force is honored with a black granite bench dedicated Aug. 22 at NMUSAF. Dozens of "combat cameras," an informal term for those who have sustained careers in the field, gather to celebrate their group and the 90-some people who contributed funds to make the bench dedication possible.

› The Advanced Power and Thermal Research Laboratory in Bldg. 23, Area B, is selected by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Interagency Energy Management Task Force as one of 13 federal projects worldwide for a 2014 Federal Energy and Water Management Award. The award recognizes individuals, groups and agencies for their outstanding contributions in the areas of energy efficiency, water conservation and the use of advanced and renewable energy technologies   at federal facilities.

› Miamisburg resident Jeffrey Fowle, detained in North Korea for five months, returns to U.S. soil, landing at Wright-Patterson AFB Oct. 22.

› Aircrews from the 445th Airlift Wing's 89th Airlift Squadron depart Oct. 16 to deliver cargo in support of Ebola-stricken regions of West Africa.

› The Wingman Program at Wright-Patterson AFB gets its own coin for unit commanders to present to personnel's above and beyond actions.

› Jaqueline Janning-Lask, chief, Aerospace Components Division, Sensors Directorate, AFRL, outlines "The 7 Janning Steps to Innovation" at the second TEDxDayton event Oct. 17. Richard Reynolds, veteran with 34 years of service as an experimental test pilot, program executive officer and senior military commander, pays tribute to service members during his speech, "The 1%," indicating his concern about how few Americans have military service experience. Reynolds, chairman of the Air Force Museum Foundation and a retired lieutenant general, discusses the all-volunteer force; the cost of technology and "winning 100-0;" and the decision to go to war. He encourages the sold-out audience of than 900 members to stay connected to the military by visiting such institutions as NMUSAF and supporting organizations associated with military service. He also encourages engagement in "serious civics."

› Leaders from the 88 ABW visit the Springfield Air National Guard Base Oct. 29 to gain a better understanding of the 178th Wing's missions and strengthen their existing partnership. According to a recent economic impact analysis, Wright-Patterson AFB and the 178th Wing have a combined economic impact of more than $4.49 billion to surrounding communities.