Into the 'Wild Blue Yonder:' AFA proclaims love of the Air Force
Jul. 19—The story of the Air Force and the Space Force is a big one. So big, it takes more than one storyteller.
That's where the Air and Space Forces Association — better known simply as the "AFA" — comes in.
David Babcock is the president of the Dayton-area AFA Wright Memorial Chapter, a group of military retirees and concerned citizens.
Babcock, an Enon resident, is a 30-year Air Force veteran, retiring as an Air Force chief master sergeant in 2002. Stepping into the corporate world, he spent 20 years with technology consulting firm The Greentree Group before retiring for good.
An early Air Force assignment for Babcock was at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the late 1970s, returning in the 1980s before retiring here.
"You cut my wrist, it's going to bleed Air Force blue," said Babcock, 70, who will become the state of Ohio AFA president in October. "I don't think it's red anymore."
The Wright Memorial Chapter — a military-affiliated non-profit — recently won several big awards for its work, including the national AFA's Donald W. Steele Sr. Memorial Award for "Unit of the Year" — a significant achievement, as there are close to 200 AFA chapters worldwide.
All the awards surprised Babcock, he confessed. "Not only was I surprised, I was embarassed."
The chapter was also selected for three other awards: Outstanding Chapter of the Year (among "extra-large" chapters), the Exceptional Service Award for Community Relations and the Exceptional Service Award for Best Overall Programming.
The awards will be formally presented at the AFA's Sept. 14 convention in Washington, D.C.
This recognition is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the chapter's volunteer members, Babcock said.
The honors have been well earned, said Bernie Skoch, chariman of the national AFA board.
There's a need for strong chapters like Wright Memorial, Skoch said in an interview. Today, just 17% of members of Congress are veterans, down from 73% in 1974, the year Skoch joined the Air Force. The number of veterans among the general population has also fallen — in 1980, about 18% of U.S. adults were veterans, but that fell to 6% in 2022, according to Pew Research.
"Those numbers say that something needs to happen if we're to help our elected officials make good decisions about what needs to be done on national security. That's one of the main reasons the AFA exists," Skoch said.
"If I could clone them, I would," he added of the Wright Memorial Chapter.
The idea behind the AFA is simple: When it comes to educating the public about the Air and Space forces, those military branches can do only so much. They need help.
The AFA's job is threefold: Advocate for the Air Force and Space Force, educate the public about their missions and advocate for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. About 25 to 30 members are active in the Dayton area, working with scholarships, grants, luncheons and a number of networking events.
There's no brick-and-mortar office; the chapter relies on a simple Post Office box.
"This is an NPO (non-profit organization) and it's all volunteer. People are spending their time to do what they can for the Air Force," Babcock said.
"They have superb community relationships," Skoch said. "They work hard to honor veterans."
The national AFA has some 200 chapters in 49 states and other countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Japan and Korea.
For more information about the AFA Wright Memorial Chapter, check out: https://www.afadaytonwright.org/
