KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Col. Carl Spear is the commander 403rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron that provides home station medical readiness for 1,500 403rd Wing reservists and the wartime tasking to establish medical triage and staging anywhere in the world. He is also an optometrist with over 20 years of experience and is the senior vice president of Eye Care North America for Luxottica, an Italian eyewear company based in Milan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Maj. Marnee A.C. Losurdo) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Col. Carl Spear is the commander 403rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron that provides home station medical readiness for 1,500 403rd Wing reservists and the wartime tasking to establish medical triage and staging anywhere in the world. He is also an optometrist with over 20 years of experience and is the senior vice president of Eye Care North America for Luxottica, an Italian eyewear company based in Milan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Maj. Marnee A.C. Losurdo) Share

Senior Airmen Jiminez Edwards (left) and Eric Bauman, 403rd Aerial Port Squadron aircraft transportation journeymen, secure a Humvee to the floor of the cargo compartment of a C-130J during the “chains and devices tie down” event of the “Port Dawg” Challenge Oct. 3, 2015, at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. The competition is designed to develop healthy competitiveness and esprit de corps while working on building a more proficient aerial port squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Labadens) Share

Members of the 403rd Aerial Port Squadron secure a Humvee to the floor of the cargo compartment of a C-130J during the “chains and devices tie down” event of the “Port Dawg” Challenge Oct. 3, 2015, at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. The competition is designed to develop healthy competitiveness and esprit de corps while working on building a more proficient aerial port squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Labadens) Share

Senior Airman Darius Miller, 403rd Aerial Port Squadron aircraft transportation journeyman, weaves forklift between construction cones during the forklift competition of the “Port Dawg” Challenge Oct. 3, 2015, at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. The competition is designed to develop healthy competitiveness and esprit de corps while working on building a more proficient aerial port squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Labadens) Share

Senior Airman Lindsey Caldwell, 403rd Aerial Port Squadron aircraft transportation specialist, straps cargo to a pallet during the pallet buildup competition of the “Port Dawg” Challenge Oct. 3, 2015, at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. The competition is designed to develop healthy competitiveness and esprit de corps while working on building a more proficient aerial port squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Labadens) Share

Master Sgt. Kevin Shows, 403rd Civil Engineer Squadron heating, ventilation and air conditioning craftsman, works on a condensing unit for an air conditioner May 5 at the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron “Hurricane Hunters” facilities at their forward operating location at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. This is slated to be the last storm season for the civil engineers to maintain the facility in St. Croix due to the 403rd CES scheduled inactivation Sept. 15, 2015. (Courtesy photo) Share

Staff Sgt. Walter Pinkerton (left), 403rd Civil Engineer Squadron water and fuels system management craftsman, and Senior Airman Nathin Schuessler, 403rd CES structural journeyman, repaint faded lines on the airfield taxiways May 5 at the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron “Hurricane Hunters” forward operating location at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. This is slated to be the last storm season for the civil engineers to maintain the facility in St. Croix due to the 403rd CES scheduled inactivation Sept. 15, 2015. (Courtesy photo) Share

Air Force Reserve firefighters with the 403rd Civil Engineering Squadron, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, douse a fire during an annual structural fire exercise at the Gulfport International Airport Dec. 7, 2014 during the 403rd Wing Unit Training Assembly. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Brian Lamar) Share

Senior Airman Shelby McGee, a reservist and firefighter with the 403rd Civil Engineering Squadron, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, performs a hyrdraulic ventilation procedure to pull the smoke from the room during an annual structural fire exercise at the Gulfport International Airport Dec. 7, 2014 during the 403rd Wing Unit Training Assembly. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Brian Lamar) Share

Staff Sgt. Artavie Robinson, 41st Aerial Port Squadron cargo section, maneuvers a forklift through an obstacle course during the unit’s first Port Dawg Challenge Oct. 4, 2014. Aerial porters put their skills to the test in five events that included forklift driving, pallet buildup, chains and devices tie down, fitness and professional knowledge. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Marnee A.C. Losurdo) Share

Master Sgt. Boyd Huff, 41st Aerial Port Squadron air transportation specialist, directs the unloading of a spare propeller at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands May 5-11, 2014. The spare propeller is one of the spare parts pre-positioned in the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadrons forward operating facility for the upcoming hurricane season. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jessica L. Kendziorek) Share