John Junior Jupin, chief of planning for the 7th Civil Engineer Squadron at Dyess AFB, Tex., is retiring from the Air Force after 57 years of service, including 23 in the active duty and 34 as a civilian employee. “It was a super ride, and I never looked back,” said Jupin, a native of Maybeury, W.Va., who entered the Air Force in 1952 out of high school at age 17. He served in Korea during the Korean War as an F-86 airframe repairman. In 1975, Jupin retired from the active duty as a chief master sergeant. Soon thereafter, he joined the civil engineer squadron at Dyess as a maintenance worker, working his way up over the years to his present position. He credits his family with being “the big backbone” of his military career. (Dyess report by 2nd Lt William-Joseph Mojica)
F-35As from the Vermont Air National Guard have deployed to Puerto Rico in recent days, continuing a major buildup of U.S. Air Force assets in Latin America aimed at combating drug trafficking and pressuring the regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
