Assistant Fire Chief nominated for GEICO Military Service Award

By Lisa Moore
440th AW PAO

Senior Master Sgt. David Dunn, a member of the Air Force Reserve and Fort Bragg-Pope Air Force Base assistant fire chief for operations has been nominated for the Government Employee Insurance Company Military Service Award.

The award, which is in its 23rd year of presentation, honors and spotlights valuable and lasting contributions of enlisted members of the armed forces in three specific areas: drug and alcohol abuse prevention; fire safety and fire prevention; and traffic safety and accident prevention.

Dunn was nominated for the fire safety and fire prevention category by his Reserve unit commander, Lt. Col. Charles Combs at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., where he serves as the chief quality assurance inspector.

Dunn is “committed to serving in the U.S. Air Force,” said Combs in the nomination packet. He “flawlessly managed, planned, developed and implemented the 916th (Maintenance Group) quality assurance program,” he said.

Combs nominated Dunn not only for his work as a reservist but also for the work he does off duty as an assistant fire chief for Fort Bragg and Pope Airfield.

With the Base Realignment and Closure policies being implemented, Pope Field emergency services now fall under Fort Bragg which has caused the Fort Bragg Emergency Services department to nearly double in size. Both departments had a staff of about 70.

“Pope was a standalone station,” said Steven Blackburn, Fort Bragg Fire Department chief. “With BRAC 2005, Bragg took over crash, fire and rescue responses on Pope. We are now one department.

During his shift, Dunn is responsible for all calls and responses for the six stations on Bragg and the one station located on the flight line on Pope Airfield. In March, when the 440th Airlift Wing has senior airfield authority of the airfield, Dunn’s duties as assistant chief over all seven stations will continue.

Blackburn commented on Dunn’s nomination saying that he is deserving of the honor.

“Fort Bragg is the busiest Department of Defense fire department in the world,” he said. “As an assistant chief, he is the highest ranking person on his shift and he is definitely one of the best supervisors we have on staff.”

His co-workers feel the same.

“He is very respected and probably the most respected assistant chief on staff,” said Bragg Fire Battalion chief Christopher Guidry, who has worked with Dunn for more than 20 years. “He is fair, honest, easy going and has the most integrity of anyone I know.”

Dunn was unavailable for comment. However, in an interview with the 916th Public Affairs office at Seymour Johnson AFB published on Jan. 31, Master Sgt. Wendy Lopedote wrote that Dunn believes that being selected to compete for the award is a result of group effort.

“It highlights the work we do. I feel I am just doing my job and I am not looking for a pat on the back. It’s rewarding for me just to help people,” Dunn said.

The nomination also acknowledges his 28 years of active and Reserve duty for the Air Force, and his support and deployment for different war operations. It cites him being instrumental in the execution of the Fort Bragg community Child Passenger Safety Program. Dunn is also responsible for the fire apparatus maintenance program. If a fire truck needs repair, he ensures that it gets fixed, properly.

The GEICO Military Service Awards honor enlisted members from each branch of active-duty service and a member from the Reserve/National Guard component. One nominee from each will be selected as an award winner. Nominees are judged on their contributions while performing their on and off duty related activities and the extent to which these activities serve to inspire other military or civilian personnel.

Dunn’s nomination is now being reviewed for winning the overall award for the Reserve/Coast Guard. Winners are expected to be announced by the end of February and will be flown to Washington, D.C. to be recognized in a special awards ceremony in April.

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