Maintenance Chief retires with nearly 40 years service Published May 19, 2006 By Master Sgt. Bryan Ripple 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio - -- Fifty-nine years ago, the stroke of President Harry S. Truman’s pen launched America’s Air Force when he signed the National Security Act of 1947 while flying aboard the “Sacred Cow”—the predecessor to Air Force One. The Department of the Air Force was born in the air that day on July 26, 1947. Chief Master Sergeant David L. Weaver, superintendent of the 910th Maintenance Squadron, was also born in 1947. He was raised in a small farming community in Southern Ohio. He grew up working on farms as a teenager, the son of an auto mechanic, his mom a homemaker. At that time of his life Dave Weaver never dreamed he would end up serving the Air Force and Air Force Reserve for nearly 40 years and retiring as a Chief Master Sergeant, which he did May 6 at a retirement ceremony held in his honor at Hangar 295. The hangar was full of people from the 910th including several retirees and friends from the unit who had come back to wish him well. Chief Weaver, who is well-respected for his knowledge of aircraft maintenance, his mentorship and supervisory skills, and solid friendship, stood tall with his trademark tight military haircut showing silvery signs of his many years of service as citations to accompany the award of the Meritorious Service Medal and his retirement certificates were read. Looking back on his career with the 910th Chief Weaver had nothing but good things to say. “The people here are the best there are without a doubt. You know when a C-130 with the red, white, and blue tail flash that says ‘Youngstown’ on it shows up, you’re dealing with good people,” he said. Comments from those who knew and worked with the chief prove he will be missed. “He was like a father to me,” said Master Sgt. Ray Kuneli, of the Maintenance Group Plans and Deployments section. “He was really a great mentor, introducing me to the different work-centers. Since I was an office staff person and not a mechanic, he really helped me understand aircraft maintenance. He would be the first person in the office arriving daily at 5:30 or 5:45 a.m. and he’d stay late a lot. He was just an incredible person,” said Sergeant Kuneli. According to Sergeant Kuneli, Chief Weaver was a man who held strong beliefs, stuck to his word and was great at motivating people. “Chief Weaver would often say to someone ‘If I tell you a mosquito can pull a plow, you hitch it up,’” Sergeant Kuneli said while remembering some of the greatest moments working with Chief Weaver. At the same time Sergeant Kuneli added “When Chief Weaver got angry, you got out of the way.” Chief Weaver also left a meaningful impression on officers he mentored. “He had a huge impact on the maintenance operation here. He was well-known for not being a slow-driver. He was a great superintendent and he is a Chief’s Chief,” said Capt. Brad Forrider, commander of the 910th Maintenance Squadron. Dave graduated from Miami Trace High School in Fayette County, Ohio in 1965. From there he got a job doing carpentry work at Marting Manufacturing, in the business of making farming products. He worked there for eight months and joined the Air Force Feb. 10, 1966 with a goal to further his education. He reported to basic military training at Lackland AFB, Texas, but all Airmen had to be moved to Amarillo AFB, Texas due to an outbreak of spinal meningitis at Lackland. Part of the training became opening up and cleaning the old barracks at Amarillo for troop use. After basic training, A1C Weaver’s first tech school was at Chanute AFB, Ill. for the Aircraft Fuel Systems Repair course. Upon graduation, his first active duty assignment was with the 316th Tactical Airlift Wing at Langley AFB, Va. working with C-130E aircraft fuel systems. In 1967 Chief Weaver deployed to Mildenhall AFB, England supporting USAFE and Middle East Contingencies. Next came a PCS move to Clark AB, Philippines in Fall 1967. He was assigned to the 405th Tactical Fighter Wing with C-47, F-100, F-102, B-57, T-33 and F-4C aircraft, supporting contingencies at Phan Rang, Bien Hoa, Da Nang, Udorn, and Tan Son Nhut Air Bases in Southeast Asia. In early 1968 he deployed to Kimpo Air Force Base, Korea with the F-102s to support the Pueblo Incident response. According to Chief Weaver, the living conditions at that time were not the greatest. “We lived in tents on the flight-line for the first two weeks and temperatures were below zero. It was a very uncomfortable situation,” he said. After that, the then Staff Sgt. Weaver had another PCS move to Ubon, Thailand, while being assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing flying F-4E aircraft. He also worked with the 1st Special Operations Wing there with AC-130 gunships, C-130E Blind Bats, AC-47s and transient aircraft. SSgt. Weaver was involved in a couple crash recovery operations during this time period. The most memorable was an EC-47 that was battle damaged and recovered from the Moon River in Thailand during a period when everyone was quarantined to the base due to a Cholera Epidemic in the local population. “Retrieval of the aircraft took over a week. We were in a hostile area working from long fishing boats leased from the Thais. We had to swim in the river which was thought to be the contamination medium for Cholera in order to install air bags under the wings to float the aircraft,” he said while remembering the tougher times. In 1970 SSgt. Weaver was assigned to the 60th Airlift Wing at Travis AFB, Calif. After four years of active duty, three of which were consecutive tours in Southeast Asia, SSgt. Weaver considered, but decided not to pursue an active duty career even though he was given the opportunity to stay at Travis and work on C-5 aircraft. While at Travis, he learned of the Air Force Reserve’s ART program and applied for the ART Register. In 1971 TSgt. Weaver accepted an ART position at the 910th Tactical Fighter Group working with A-37B fighter jets until 1980 when the 910th changed missions to the C-130B aircraft and became the 910th Tactical Airlift Group; then with the C-130H models which arrived in 1990 and the 910th became an Airlift Wing. Over the years he participated in many deployment exercises, inspections, and airlift rodeo competitions. He also participated in the base volleyball and baseball leagues and even coached the women’s volleyball and softball teams which participated in Air Force Reserve tournaments at Westover ARB, Mass., Dobbins ARB, Ga., and Pittsburgh ARS, Pa. The last couple years were certainly busy times for Chief Weaver. In 2003 he was activated for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and deployed for seven months as Maintenance Superintendent at Ramstein AB, Germany as part of Operation Joint Forge. In 2005 Chief Weaver deployed to Duke Field, Fla., as Maintenance Chief for the aerial spray mission after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Although the Chief certainly doesn’t back down from hard work, he knows what else it takes to have a successful Air Force career. Family is a top priority with the Chief and he doesn’t hide his feelings about that. His wife, Sue is a Contracting Officer here. “I couldn’t have done this without my wife. Sue has always been there to support me. She plays a huge role in Team-Weaver.” For now the Chief intends to work around his home in Mecca, Ohio and take life one day at a time. “We’ve got a few acres of land to take care of and I’ll probably do some hunting and fishing. There are also a couple job opportunities I’ll be taking a look at as well,” he said. “I think he still has way too much to offer to retire,” said Mrs. Weaver. “But I look forward to spending more time with him.” He may be retired now, but thoughts of the Chief and his time at the 910th will surely remain with those who knew and worked with him.