167th Airlift Wing

Tech Sgt. Tracy V. Myers has only been on the job as a recruiter for seven months, but already she's being honored by the National Guard Bureau for her efforts in expanding the ranks of the West Virginia Air National Guard. The recruiter with the 167th Airlift Wing was named a "Top Producer" for December among Air National Guard recruiters across the nation. The NGB runs the numbers to see which recruiter is the top producer each month, as well as on a weekly basis during that time period.

The 11 C-5A aircraft assigned to the Air National Guard unit based near Martinsburg will be replaced with eight, C-17 Globemasters, a smaller aircraft that isn't nearly as wide or cavernous, military officials said Friday. The transition slated for the 167th Airlift Wing at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport in fiscal 2015 is part of an Air Force plan to retire 191 Air National Guard aircraft following $487 billion in budget cuts announced by the Pentagon last month, officials said.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Lt. Col. Sandra L. Duiker has retired from the 167th Airlift Wing, West Virginia Air National Guard. Duiker was recognized recently for her 20-plus years of military service to her country. She learned that she has been put in for two of the highest awards bestowed for service to one's country and state: the Air Force Legion of Merit and the West Virginia Legion of Merit. She is also the recipient of two Bronze Star medals.

More than 280 aircraft - including the type assigned to West Virginia Air National Guard units based near Martinsburg and Charleston - are being considered for elimination over the next five years, according to the Air Force. A “white paper” released Wednesday by Air Force leaders indicates that 27 C-5As, the aircraft assigned to the 167th Airlift Wing at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, are among 133 mobility aircraft being targeted. Planned changes to the makeup of the Air Force will result in the reduction of 9,900 active, guard and reserve airmen, the Air Force said in the five-page document.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - It hasn't happened in years, but the 167th Airlift Wing now has two chaplains to serve the spiritual needs of airmen on base. First Lt. Jonathan W. Yost delivered his first chapel service recently in the base's auditorium. Maj. David Reynolds, the wing's chaplain, is deployed to Germany. A native of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., Yost is no stranger to the Martinsburg air base. His father, Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Yost was a supervisor on the local flight line and retired from the West Virginia Air National Guard after serving more than three decades.

All authorized commissary and Exchange shoppers will be able to purchase discounted groceries and other items at an upcoming on-site sale sponsored jointly by Andrews Air Force Base Commissary and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. The sale will be Saturday and Sunday at the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg. Sale hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. The 167th Airlift Wing is at 222 Sabre Jet Blvd. off U.S. 11. The commissary on-site sale will feature fresh meat and produce, household cleaning and personal care items, canned goods, snacks, pet food, water and sports drinks, and a variety of nonperishable goods, according to a news release from the 167th Airlift Wing.

Airmen with the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, W.Va., recently had the opportunity to tour the White House in Washington. Front row, from left, Staff Sgt. Shannon Mullenax, Master Sgt. Denise Smearman, Tech Sgt. Tracie Etherington, Tech Sgt. Tracy Myers, Tech Sgt. Jacki Hinkel, Staff Sgt. Tammy Marks, Tech Sgt. Jennifer Swartz and Maj. Melissa Shade. Back row, from left, Master Sgt. Dan Jenkins, Staff Sgt. Derek Miller, Master Sgt. Michael Lindamood, Staff Sgt. Eric Eells, Airman Arthur Greenlee and Master Sgt. Dan Krowpman.

The West Virginia Air National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing will once again partner with the local community and Thunder Over The Blue Ridge Inc. to host the 2012 Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Air Show and Open House, Airlift Wing officials said Tuesday. The event, scheduled for Sept. 15 and 16, 2012, will be on the grounds of the 167th Airlift Wing at the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, Shepherd Field in Martinsburg. Next year's open house and air show will center around a variety of military and civilian acts and displays while opening the base to the general public, according to a news release.

julieg@herald-mail.com Approximately 20 members of the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard were injured Saturday when their plane encountered severe turbulence off the East Coast as they were returning to base in Martinsburg, a unit spokesman said. The plane made an emergency landing at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va., around 1 p.m., Lt. Col. Roger Sencindiver said. None of the injuries was life-threatening, Sencindiver said.

167th aiding in Persian Gulf MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Members of the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard deployed Sunday morning to support the ongoing efforts in the Persian Gulf. Col. Jesse Thomas, vice wing commander for the 167th unit, said he couldn't divulge how many of the 1,000-plus men and women stationed here were deployed or their specific destination. The order to deploy came from the Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

Automatic federal budget cuts set to take effect Friday would mean thousands of temporary layoffs for National Guard and civilian defense workers in West Virginia, including those at the 167th Airlift Wing near Martinsburg, along with reduced funding for several other programs, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said Tuesday. The West Virginia Democrat said on a conference call that he's discouraged Congress hasn't reached a long-term, bipartisan compromise, but he's still “very hopeful” a deal can be completed before month's end. Manchin called the proposed widespread cuts “ludicrous.” “I just think there's a smarter way to do it,” he said.

The open house planned as part of the Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Air Show in May will not be held due to Defense Department budget cuts and “fiscal uncertainty,” organizers said Tuesday. With the change, the air show on May 11 and 12 now will be staged on the civilian side of Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport and the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard will no longer host the event on their base at Shepherd Field, officials said in a news release.  “Unfortunately, the uncertainty in our national financial picture has forced us to consider the possibility of some rather dramatic cuts in our funding,” Col. Roger Nye, the Airlift Wing's commander said in the news release.

The West Virginia Air National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing is hosting the Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House and Air Show on Saturday and Sunday. All motorists approaching the 167th Airlift Wing are encouraged to use the alternate travel route of Interstate 81 to bypass the base during the event days, according to a news release. U.S. 11 from Novak Drive to Paynes Ford Road will remain open for this year's event. Parking will be prohibited on the following streets from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday:   U.S. 11 from Novak Drive to Paynes Ford Road Business Park Drive from Novak Drive to I-81 bridge Stewart Avenue from Wren Street to Winchester Avenue Kelly Island Road from Paynes Ford Road to base entrance Paynes Ford Road from U.S. 11 to Airport Road n Airport Road from Paynes Ford Road to Novak Drive Novak Drive from U.S. 11 to Airport Road No parking will be allowed in the Orgill business lot on Business Park Drive, the Polo Ralph Lauren lot on Novak Drive and the park-and-ride lot near the I-81 bridge.

The 11 C-5A aircraft assigned to the Air National Guard unit based near Martinsburg will be replaced with eight, C-17 Globemasters, a smaller aircraft that isn't nearly as wide or cavernous, military officials said Friday. The transition slated for the 167th Airlift Wing at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport in fiscal 2015 is part of an Air Force plan to retire 191 Air National Guard aircraft following $487 billion in budget cuts announced by the Pentagon last month, officials said.

More than 280 aircraft - including the type assigned to West Virginia Air National Guard units based near Martinsburg and Charleston - are being considered for elimination over the next five years, according to the Air Force. A “white paper” released Wednesday by Air Force leaders indicates that 27 C-5As, the aircraft assigned to the 167th Airlift Wing at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, are among 133 mobility aircraft being targeted. Planned changes to the makeup of the Air Force will result in the reduction of 9,900 active, guard and reserve airmen, the Air Force said in the five-page document.

The West Virginia Air National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing will once again partner with the local community and Thunder Over The Blue Ridge Inc. to host the 2012 Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Air Show and Open House, Airlift Wing officials said Tuesday. The event, scheduled for Sept. 15 and 16, 2012, will be on the grounds of the 167th Airlift Wing at the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, Shepherd Field in Martinsburg. Next year's open house and air show will center around a variety of military and civilian acts and displays while opening the base to the general public, according to a news release.

The 2011 Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House & Air Show, despite being cut short by the fiery crash of a post-World War II aircraft that killed a pilot, met all of its financial obligations thanks to the generosity of performers, sponsors and the community, organizers announced Tuesday. "Everyone gave back, something, somewhere," said Col. Brian Truman, vice commander of the 167th Airlift Wing Air National Guard and president of the board for Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Inc. Whether the show returns next year to the National Guard unit's base at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport remains to be decided, Truman said.

All authorized commissary and Exchange shoppers will be able to purchase discounted groceries and other items at an upcoming on-site sale sponsored jointly by Andrews Air Force Base Commissary and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. The sale will be Saturday and Sunday at the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg. Sale hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. The 167th Airlift Wing is at 222 Sabre Jet Blvd. off U.S. 11. The commissary on-site sale will feature fresh meat and produce, household cleaning and personal care items, canned goods, snacks, pet food, water and sports drinks, and a variety of nonperishable goods, according to a news release from the 167th Airlift Wing.

The 167th Airlift Wing's 5K fun run will be Saturday at 9 a.m. at the base. The 3.1-mile course includes on- and off-road surfaces, with the final stretch heading down the taxiway to a C-5 aircraft at the finish line. Race-day registration begins at 7 a.m. and costs $30. The first 300 registrants will receive a free T-shirt. Proceeds from the race will support the Kids Village at the 2011 Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House and Air Show, which in turn benefits the United Way of the Eastern Panhandle.

The 167th Airlift Wing C-5K Fun Run will be held at the base in Martinsburg, W.Va., on Saturday, June 11. Start time for the race is 9 a.m. Early registration ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 5. The cost is $25. Race-day registration begins at 7 a.m. and costs $30. The 3.1-mile course includes on- and off-road surfaces, with the final stretch heading down the taxiway to a C-5 aircraft at the finish line. The first 300 registrants will receive free T-shirts. Proceeds from the race will support the Kids Village at the 2011 Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House and Air Show, which in turn benefits the United Way of the Eastern Panhandle.