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)
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.