Earlier this year, Airman 1st Class Chad Schuch, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, was accepted into the U.S. Air Force Academy (AFA) Prep School and is expected to graduate with the class of 2025. “I won’t say that it’s a long time coming, because I’m very grateful to have gotten in on the first try,” Schuch said. “I’m ready to get started on the next part of my life.”

Chief Master Sgt. John Lipsey, 62nd Maintenance Group command chief, right, and Col. Aaron Sasson, 62nd Maintenance Group commander, center, greet Gen. David Goldfein, chief of staff of the Air Force at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., June 18, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Sara Hoerichs)

The 62nd Operations Support Squadron (62nd OSS) and 57th Weapons Squadron from Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Washington, and the 437th Airlift Wing (AW) from Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, in conjunction with Air Mobility Command (AMC), tested an updated dynamic re-tasking capability (DRC) system during a weapons instructor course joint force exercise over the Nevada Test and Training Range, Nevada, June 6. One C-17 Globemaster III from the 62nd AW, JBLM, and one from the 437th AW were equipped with the DRC system and equipment enabling significantly faster satellite connection speeds, which is how the system communicates and displays live-time information to pilots. This allows pilots to see more than just what is in their line of sight.

When the 62nd Airlift Wing changed to mission-essential manning to limit the spread of COVID-19, some people stopped physically coming into work, but members of the 62nd MXS can’t take their work home with them. Home station checks occur every 180 days for a C-17 Globemaster III, during which the aircraft undergoes a thorough safety and functionality inspection. If they are not completed on time, the aircraft can be grounded.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Miller, 62nd Airlift Wing protocol specialist, takes a virtual class during Wingman Day at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., May 21, 2020. Wingman Day classes were virtual for the first time at McChord due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Mikayla Heineck)

On April 3, 1975, U.S. President Gerald Ford announced military and civilian planes would transport hundreds of Vietnamese and Cambodian orphans from Southeast Asia to the U.S. The operation became known as Operation Babylift.

Most military members serve in one branch and spend their entire careers in either the enlisted or officer ranks. The same can’t be said for Col. (Dr.) Robert “Bones” McCoy, 62nd Medical Squadron commander. McCoy has experienced it all - four military branches, enlisted and officer tiers, active duty, reserve and National Guard. Throughout it all, his love for medicine has been a constant.