Change: closing door opens many

  • Published
  • By Col. Steven J. Chapman
  • 919th SOW Commander
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  Change is never easy. As you know, the wing has been subjected to several changes in the past couple of years, and one more is about to befall its members. 

The time has come when the Midnight Express newsletter has reached the end of its paper journey only to begin a new one online. The wing newsletter has been in print for more than 30 years and beginning in August, it will go completely digital.
This is not the first makeover the newsletter has endured. 

Originally called the Dolphin Digest in the 1970s, the newsletter was given its name because staff members believed a C-130 looked like a flying dolphin. That name later changed to the Spectre more than 10 years after the then 919th Tactical Airlift Group gained the AC-130H Gunship mission. 

In 1995, a "Name-the-paper" contest was held to give it a face-lift pending the wing's mission change from the Gunships to supporting the MC-130E Combat Talon I and MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft. Then a master sergeant, Chief Master Sgt. Paul Albini's winning submission reflected the nature of the new mission, which he summed two distinct words to develop today's Midnight Express. 

It may seem that with so much history behind it, it would be unthinkable to "shelve" this award-winning paper, but as Winston Churchill once said, "There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction." This is the direction I'm pointing to. 

This transition gives outsiders an up close and personal view of who we are, what we do and where we're headed, promoting a better understanding of the Air Force Reserve and its unique missions. We get maximum exposure to a public audience 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all over the globe. 

That's the community benefit. You directly benefit from this as well, having the most up-to-date news and resources at your fingertips. Looking for photos or a story on an event that just happened? The Web site will have it there ready for you to read with your cup of coffee. 

And that's not the only feature of the site. There are fact sheets, videos, art and graphics, photos, and many other tools to help you keep in touch with your Reserve family.
Here's another point to think about - we will be saving more than $35,000 a year in production costs alone. 

Sure, reading from a computer screen isn't as marvelous as it would have sounded 20 years ago, but it's the way of the future, not only for us, but for the tech-savvy community as a whole. 

As a servicemember, you would know by now that change is truly a necessary evil, but one that we cannot continue to perform our mission without implementing. Our focus on the wartime mission relies on the enhancement and restructuring of processes to empower our efficiency as an ultimate force. This is one of those enhancements. 

The move can relate to the Total Force Integration initiative in that it will provide us with a seamless capability to better serve you, the war fighter, your family and your community. 

As I mentioned to you when I took command of the wing, this is your wing, and I am here to serve you. As a unit, we are serving all Americans and this simple yet essential initiative encompasses that and much more.