History in the making

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nicole Leidholm
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Opening up a history book and reading about what happened 20, 30 or more years ago is easy. But it took time and effort of individuals gathering all the information to preserve the history so everyone can read about it today.

The Air Force history program was established in 1942 during World War II, when President Roosevelt tasked the services to record the history they were making. Air Force historians continue to chronicle history by producing official and permanent record of their unit's activities.

Mark Wilderman is the 60th Air Mobility Wing's sole historian working full time as an emergency essential civilian member. For Wilderman, it's just like being on active duty. He must be able to deploy with any other unit, be healthy to deploy and maintain top secret clearance.

Every two years, the historian deploys to the area of responsibility for a period of 120 days to write the history of an expeditionary unit or in support of humanitarian operations.

In May 2012, Wilderman had the chance to document the Air Force's history in Afghanistan, where he recorded air operations for the 609th Combined Air and Space Operations Center by writing monthly history contingencies.

"It was a reminder of how important air power is to our effort in the AOR," Wilderman said.

After retiring from the Air Force in 1995, Wilderman worked on history projects whenever possible and in 2010, he applied for Travis' historian vacancy. With a bachelor's in history and having a hobby in history, he was selected as the 60th AMW historian and has been here since Jan. 2011.

In the past two years, he attended two historian courses at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. and a course at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. to become proficient.

"A historian's mission is to enhance the wing's memory, sustain its heritage and help the Air Force better understand the present and plan for the future," Wilderman said.

These records serve as an important management tool and informational resource for commanders at all levels. By promoting history, they also contribute to the education and the culture of the Air Force. When done, it becomes another chapter in the permanent Air Force story, a useful tool for students of military history, lawmakers and lessons learned.
"My primary job as the historian is to record the major activities of the 60 AMW, Air Mobility Command's largest wing, each year and to preserve the documents," Wilderman said. "I help promote knowledge of the heritage of the Air Force, AMC and 60th AMW organizations and the public."

Instead of reinventing the wheel, commanders can read what happened in 2011 with Pacific Passage, what we did, how we set up and prepared so they can do the same when it happens again, Wilderman said.

"We accomplish the mission by publishing annual wing histories," Wilderman said. "We cover any unit contingency or exercise participation, personnel, training, unit budget, flying and ground safety statistics and more to provide officials at all command levels with historical perspective, advice, ideas and factual data."

Wilderman is currently working alongside the museum director and guiding artists in depicting what aircraft on Travis used to look like to help fill the hallways of the wing headquarters building with aviational artwork.

It is the historian's responsibility to collect the documents necessary to complete the wing history. However, it is each commander's responsibility to preserve those documents until they are collected by him or her to form a permanent record of the unit's contribution to the annual and official achievements of Travis.

"After we gather the information and put it together, it is reviewed by the wing commander and is sent to headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. and reviewed by the command historian," Wilderman said. "The history is then sent to Air Force historical research agency at Maxwell AFB where it becomes a permanent part of Air Force history."

Once history is at AFHRA, researches who have the proper security clearance and need to know can use those documents as lessons learned.

"While working on the 2009-10 and 2011 60 AMW histories, I was amazed at how much happens at this wing in a twelve-month period," Wilderman said. "I'm also amazed at how much we contribute to operations in the AOR, often while continuing to conducting our routine operations, as well as a few unexpected humanitarian relief operations such as Operations TOMODACHI and PACIFIC PASSAGE in March 2011 and short-notice combat taskings such as Operation ODYSSEY DAWN and UNIFIED PROTECTOR in Libya in March-November 2011."

Without historical data and interpretation regarding historical aspects of current issues, the wing's ability to benefit from past experiences and lessons learned would suffer.

"People will be reading what we did today 100, 200 years down the road," Wilderman said. "It's important to get it written down and get it right."