Commander's Corner

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DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The Commander's Corner is a forum for the Dyess community to make suggestions or voice concerns about Dyess directly to Col. Glen VanHerck, 7th Bomb Wing commander. Each week the Dyess Public Affairs office solicits questions via the official Dyess Facebook page, offering people an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers directly from the wing commander.

QUESTION

I'm an Air Force brat. My father was a B-29 pilot in the Pacific in WWll. We lived at 301 Texas Ave in the early 60's. Have great memories of growing up on Dyess, little league, we had horses at the stable, the movies...both my parents have passed away, but I'm wondering if there is any procedure that allows civilians on base to visit?

Col. Glen VanHerck
Col. Glen VanHerck		   RESPONSE

Casey - First, I'd like to thank your family for serving our great nation. I am happy to report that the answer to your question is yes, and I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities available here at Dyess. You'll find that Dyess AFB has changed significantly over the past few years. The 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs office offers both group tours and monthly public tours through their community engagement program. Group tours are geared toward school groups, scouts and various other organizations, and must consist of at least 15 people. You may be more interested in the general public tours, which are held the second Friday of each month. These tours allow individuals, who would not otherwise have access to the base, a glimpse at our history by visiting the Dyess Museum, the chance to observe various components of the Dyess mission through a windshield tour of the installation, and the opportunity to participate in a walking tour of our Air Park, which displays 30 static aircraft of various types from various times in our history. For further information, I suggest visiting our public website at http://www.dyess.af.mil/basetours.asp, where you will also find contact information for the Public Affairs office.
 
QUESTION

What is the wing king's zombie preparedness plan? I'm curious to see how he plans to survive if there ever is one.

Though, on a more serious note, I would like to know; what regulation/standard/etc states that an Airman *has* to reside in the dorms for three years (extenuating circumstances such as a pregnancy or marriage notwithstanding)? I was always wondering if it was simply a local standard, or command-wide, or even an Air Force-wide policy.

Col. Glen VanHerck
Col. Glen VanHerck		   RESPONSE

Brittany - As I've said many times, and have as my #1 priority for Team Dyess, we must be ready every minute of the day to execute the mission, whether that mission be generating, deploying, and employing B-1s or C-130s half-way around the world, or responding to a natural disaster or terrorist attack right here in our own backyard. Please rest assured that if a terrorist attack is brought to our gates by zombies, we'll be ready.

In the event of a zombie apocalypse or similar event in the Abilene area, I would first ensure that the base is safe and secure. Once the base is secure from the event, I would direct a Team Dyess accountability recall; in times of crisis, it's essential that we ensure our Airmen and their families are safe and secure. To get the word out about the zombie attack or possible other events, we'd need to alert our personnel by posting notifications on the Dyess AFB website, social media and Commander's Access Channel. Then, to protect our assets and the installation, I would direct our civil engineers and logistics readiness squadron to use their equipment to further fortify the base, adding physical barriers in addition to our gates and fences. Of course, we would want to offer refuge to as many families as possible, so our security forces defenders would be busy conducting checks to ensure only proper personnel access the base, while also assuming defensive positions to guard against the attack. Understanding that we must also provide support to the local community, If required and authorized, I would direct our force support Airmen to begin readying food and supplies to be airdropped into local neighborhoods by the 317th Airlift Group C-130s. Once all of these preparations had taken place, I would then turn to our very own Command Chief Master Sgt. Lindsey, a trained and skilled Tactical Air Control Party, who would guide our B-1s to deliver a massive, obliterating airstrike on the zombies.

As for your inquiry on what governs policies on Airmen living in the dorms, Air Force Instruction 32-6005 sets the standard utilized by all Air Force installations for unaccompanied Airmen's housing. It states that unaccompanied Airmen must have 36 months time-in-service and have reached the pay grade of Senior Airman to move out of the dormitories. As always, mission requirements and, as you mentioned, extenuating circumstances, can affect that timeline. Thanks for your fantastic questions.