Air Guard

167th Airlift Wing thanked for showing support at Civil Air Patrol's encampment MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - On Aug. 27, two sections of the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard were recognized for their support to the West Virginia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. Over the past several years, the 167th's Life Support Section and the Security Forces Squadron have generously provided instructors for the West Virginia Wing's Summer Encampment, held annually at Camp Dawson, Kingwood, W.Va.

Editor's note: Each Sunday, The Herald-Mail publishes "A Life Remembered. " This continuing series takes a look back -- through the eyes of family, friends, co-workers and others -- at a member of the community who died recently. Today's "A Life Remembered" is about Terri Lynn Tucker, who died March 24 at the age of 39. Her obituary was published in The Herald-Mail on March 26. When Kevin Tucker was a senior at Clear Spring High School, he said he was vaguely aware of a little freshman named Terri Shenebeck.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard is slated to receive $4.3 million for a C-5 avionics shop, U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., announced Friday. The 12,500-square-foot facility at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport will be used for the repair and testing of C-5 navigation equipment, according to a press release from Byrd's office in Washington. Completion of the project will reintegrate critical maintenance facilities, which were separated during initial construction of the C-5 hangar complex, Byrd said.

Editor's note: Certain jobs seem to run in some families. In this series of stories that began Monday and ends today, we feature families in which members share the same or similar professions that serve the public. MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Senior Master Sgt. Ron Glazer joined the Army in 1985 for college money. When his son, Airman 1st Class Ron Glazer Jr. joined the Air Guard in 2006, his father was relieved. "I knew he would have the great benefits of education and training.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A suspicious package was found around 2 p.m. today during routine lawn maintenance near the west gate of the 167th Air National Guard Airlift Wing adjacent to Eastern Regional Airport, according to Capt. Melissa Shade. Security police were immediately notified and the gate was closed, Shade said. 167th Security Forces, The Berkeley County Sheriff's Department and their bomb robot, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, W.Va. State Police and the FBI all responded to the scene.

On July 6, the 167th Airlift Wing Base Honor Guard Colors Team of the West Virginia Air National Guard in Martinsburg, W.Va., presented the colors for the national anthem before the game between the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The team was also introduced to NASA Air Force Lt. Col. Astronaut Terry W. Virts, who threw out the first pitch.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., announced Tuesday that $14.5 million in contracts has been awarded for the construction of a C-5 squadron operations facility, the continued development of the Martinsburg Air National Guard Base parking apron and for runway expansion projects at the airport. In addition, Byrd, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that he has included $850,000 in legislation that recently cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee to complete the design of taxiway upgrades at the base.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. ? A $50 million allocation to upgrade the West Virginia Air National Guard base in Berkeley County for a larger fleet of planes was included in a bill approved by Congress and now is pending President Bush's approval, according to an official familiar with the project. Capt. Melissa Shade of the 167th Airlift Wing said Wednesday she was told that the money was approved to outfit the unit's base at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport for the C-5 Galaxy airplanes.

daniels@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - Aboard the cavernous C-130 packed with tired and weary souls somewhere between Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and Yeager Field in Charleston, W.Va., Loadmaster Douglas Ferrell had the chance to step back and absorb his precious freight. "This is what this job's all about, right here," Ferrell said past nightfall Saturday. More than 12 hours earlier, at about 8 a.m., Ferrell knew anything could happen that day, but this was the best of all possible outcomes for the tired crew of the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com Hedgesville, W.Va. - An Air National Guard member from Hedgesville wounded in Iraq on Monday will be sent to a Texas hospital for treatment of second-degree burns on his right arm and the right side of his face, said the man's mother and the chief of staff of the 167th Airlift Wing. Staff Sgt. Brad Runkles, 22, will be transferred to a hospital in San Antonio. Neither Lt. Col. Roger Sencindiver nor Runkles' mother, Audrey Runkles, knew whether it is a military or civilian hospital.