Dignan bids farewell to 910th Published Oct. 20, 2016 By Mr. Eric M. White 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- When Col. James Dignan assumed command of the 910th Airlift Wing (AW) on March 2, 2013, he referred to Youngstown Air Reserve Station as the best-guarded cornfield in Northeast Ohio and the best-kept secret in the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). He elaborated that the installation has world-class facilities and people, a history of excellence in service and a Department of Defense (DoD) unique aerial spray mission, yet didn’t have a level of exposure to match its value as a defense asset. The installation was not well known as he travelled around the Air Force. Early during his command here, he encountered residents near YARS who were unaware the base existed. His tenure here was most visibly defined by work to transform the installation into the best-known little base in AFRC and a well-loved community staple. After nearly four years serving as the 910th Airlift Wing's commander, Dignan has moved to a new assignment as the Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Director, Mobilization Global Force Management and Readiness at U.S. Air Force headquarters in Washington D.C., effective Oct. 18. He’s pleased with the progress made at YARS, but still sees ample room for growth. “We have great Airmen, great facilities, a great community; continue to leverage all of those for our success,” said Dignan, when prompted to offer some insight to whoever replaces him as commander. “The answer is here, the key is here, sometimes we just need a spark or a different perspective or a different look.” A couple years ago, Dignan saw a unique opportunity to capitalize those assets in a potential win-win program. YARS became the first AFRC installation to host the Air Force Community Partnership Program (AFCPP). According to Air Force policy, the AFCPP “is an Air Force-wide initiative to develop, manage, oversee, and evaluate Air Force installation-community partnerships.” It began as an initiative with community leaders, business owners, political representatives, non-profit directors and 910th AW leadership meeting to discuss possible partnership ideas in 2015. Participants identified, explored and in several cases implemented projects that benefitted both YARS and surrounding communities. Members of the 910th Civil Engineer Squadron (CES) partnered with the city of Youngstown in a blight remediation agreement. The city, which has more than 4,000 blighted structures slated for demolition, benefitted from the squadron’s manpower in demolishing nearly 90 houses while the unit members gained valuable real-world training applicable in deployed locations. Squadron members also installed approximately 800 new street signs. In a separate project, CES members designed and built an outdoor staircase at a veterans’ park in Newton Falls, Ohio. The city provided the supplies while the 910th provided manpower, again gaining valuable training not typically available to members. Partnerships with local universities including Youngstown State and Kent State have made college-level courses contributing to a Community College of the Air Force degree more accessible to Wing members. Through partnerships with several local non-profit youth organizations, YARS Airmen have provided more than 10 thousand mentorship hours to area students while representing the 910th positively in their communities and increasing recruitment potential. Other partnerships have provided grain bin rescue training to northeast Ohio and 910th firefighters, bolstered emergency response capabilities through the annual Feel the Heat training and capabilities demonstration event with the American Red Cross and provided volleyball team facilities and a graduation venue for Mathews High School after their gymnasium flooded. The increased exposure garnered from these community programs has resulted in greater recognition for the base and its leadership. The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber presented Dignan with their Spirit of the Valley Award at their annual meeting held here, March 23, 2013. While presenting the award, Kevin Helmick, President & CEO of Farmers National Bank, said, “He has worked tirelessly as an ambassador of our base on the global stage. Yet, his leadership has also had a profound impact here at home, where he has reopened the region’s relationship with the Air Force to a degree not witnessed since prior to the World Trade Center attacks, when security policy essentially closed bases off from communities.” Dignan deferred the recognition to the men and women who work at Youngstown Air Reserve Station. Inspiring Minds, a non-profit youth organization based in Warren, Ohio, presented the 910th AW their 2016 Community IMpact award for providing youth mentorship form Service members and opening facilities to provide informative military experiences to teenagers. Early in Dignan’s tenure with the 910th, sequestration began affecting the Department of Defense. YARS was not immune. The station’s fleet of 12 C-130H Hercules aircraft was reduced to eight, eliminating more than 200 positions and reducing economic impact. These reductions took a toll on morale at YARS, which Dignan often referred to as a family. That sense of family, experienced in working directly with Airmen, Sailors and Marines at the operational level, is what Dignan is least eager to leave behind in departing for his new assignment. “Being here at the operational end of Air Force activity is what I’ve done my entire career,” said Dignan. “Whether it’s at the tactical or the operational level, you’re out there fighting the fight or preparing people to fight the fight, and that’s what our war-fighting ethos is about. Obviously, as a Wing commander I’m a little bit more removed from that, but still our main job is to prepare people to go to war and defend our country.” Dignan sees the familial feel of YARS, indicative of the familial feel Dignan and his family encountered throughout the Valley, as the installation’s greatest asset, but also a possible weakness. “It became readily apparent to me that YARS was all about family,” said Dignan, “and over time I’ve come to realize that our familial sense here, as well as our understanding of each other, is our singular strength and weakness at the same time. So we need to identify what strengths we have and how we build upon those strengths and how we identify how that familial feel weakens our efforts.” In his new role at the Pentagon, Dignan will assess the readiness of our Airmen. The goal is to see what can be done at the policy or strategic level through funding, manning or other means, to enhance readiness and meet requirements as set by the President of the United States. In describing his new assignment, Dignan gives the illustration of a whip. The handle of the whip is held by policy-setters and decision-makers at the highest levels of the DoD while local organizations like the 910th AW are at the end of the whip. Small movements from the handle can have a significant impact at the unit level. He looks forward to taking his experiences from the end of the whip at YARS to the handle at headquarters and doing what he can to make a positive impact for U.S. Airmen. Despite his new assignment in Washington D.C., Dignan and his family don’t have immediate plans to move from the Valley, where they’ve made strong connections during his command of YARS. Col. Darryl Markowski, vice commander of the 910th Airlift Wing, will serve as interim commander. A permanent replacement has not yet been appointed. According to Dignan, the new commander will inherit a world-class organization and personnel. “YARS is the preeminent reserve base in the command,” said Dignan. “The facilities and personnel can deliver a unique capability that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the command, or the world for that matter, and folks should be proud of that. And what we do in a very cost-effective manner for the Air Force is something we should be proud of and YARS is still a well-guarded secret in the AF and command, but hopefully someday it will be the best-known little base in the Air Force.”