Martinsburg’s 167th Airlift Wing always “ready at a moment’s notice”

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Balancing civilian work, home life and service to their country is part of the mission at the 167th Airlift Wing.

Col. David Cochran is Base Commander. He has been at the 167th for more than 20 years.

“Really, our mission at the 167th is we want to organize, train, and equip. So, we want to be ready at a moment’s notice for any issue that may come up, whether it be a national issue, or a state issue. So that’s our mandate, you know, to be prepared and to be ready. So what you see going on during the week, and we usually do fly about six local training sorties a week – usually three during the day and three at night – we’re preparing for that mission,” Col. Cochran said on Thursday’s Panhandle Live.

He said one big benefit for the personnel is that they get to deploy from and come back to home when duty calls.

C-17 cargo planes have been in place at the Airlift Wing for about five years now. They replaced the older, mammoth C-5 Galaxies. Cochran said the C-17s will be around for a long time:

“The difference is obviously the size, the capacity. But I think the other big difference for us as an Air National Guard Wing and as a community partner, is that with the C-17 on board now at the 167th, our future is secure.”

Col. Cochran was a guest on Wednesday’s Panhandle Live.

Story by Marsha Chwalik/Panhandle News Network