Northwest Airlifter ends, wing news stays online Published Sept. 7, 2009 By 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Production of the Northwest Airlifter newspaper as an authorized publication of the 62nd Airlift Wing ends with a final edition Sept. 25 as the base gets closer to activating Joint Base Lewis-McChord in January. "The Northwest Airlifter served to inform McChord Airmen for decades, and the publication earned many Air Force and Department of Defense writing awards," said Master Sgt. Dean Miller, 62nd AW chief of Public Affairs. "Today, joint basing offers an exciting time to look forward, and how Airmen continue to receive information has been a consideration from the very beginning." After the Sept. 25 Airlifter issue is published, one important thing won't change - public affairs Airmen will continue to provide the latest wing news, feature stories and photographs on the wing's primary information platform, the 62nd AW public Web site: www.mcchord.af.mil (via government computers at www.mcchord.af.mil./). "We encourage all Airmen to continue to share news tips with us so we can coordinate coverage of their events as we transition to a joint base," said Sergeant Miller. "Our mission to tell the story of our Airmen hasn't changed." The Northwest Guardian, currently serving Fort Lewis, becomes the authorized joint base newspaper in January as the joint base reaches initial operating capability. The Guardian will provide coverage of Army and Air Force activities, as well as installation news that affects the entire joint base population. The Northwest Guardian, currently delivered at multiple locations on McChord, will phase in more coverage about Air Force and installation activities in the coming weeks. In January, as the joint base newspaper, the Guardian will be delivered installation-wide, to include housing areas. "We look forward to providing the entire joint base a source of installation news through the Northwest Guardian," said J.C. Matthews, Fort Lewis Garrison Public Affairs Officer. "We have a professional team of writers and photographers, and we take very seriously our responsibility to serve everyone on the joint base - Air Force, Army and all others - as the first choice for news that affects them and their families." McChord community members with a news tip for the Guardian are encouraged to pass the information through the 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office at 982-5637. While the Northwest Airlifter ceases as an official Air Force product, readers may see a similar product distributed as a private business venture.