Airfield manager’s passion spans four decades Published Aug. 24, 2012 By Pascual Flores Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- George Drombosky, Air Traffic Control Specialist/Assistant, 305th Operations Support Squadron reflects on more than four decades of federal service as he prepares for retirement Sept. 1. The decision to join the U.S. Air Force arrived in the form of a 'greeting' from the selective service draft board in 1967. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native served as an air operations specialist and air traffic controller for the next four years with assignments to the 30th Military Airlift Squadron at McGuire Air Force Base and later at the 3526th Student Squadron at Williams AFB, Ariz. Drombosky fulfilled his active-duty obligation four years later in February 1971. He further pursued his military career by joining the 108th Tactical Fighter Wing here at then McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., as an Air Reserve technician, a move that led to approximately 44 years of federal service. "I was in the right place at the right time; I walked into the civil service system," said Drombosky. Drombosky later joined the 438th Military Airlift Wing as a civil service member at McGuire AFB, which later became the 305th Air Mobility Wing. Drombosky who was no stranger to airfield operations, had his share of emergencies during his career. He worked behind the scenes coordinating a live-heart delivery from the McGuire airfield to a local hospital on Thanksgiving Day 1989 in addition to handling an overseas Pan Am Boeing 747 in-flight emergency during which the aircraft was running extremely low on fuel during a thunderstorm in 1992. "You have to know how to respond with in-flight emergencies and weather," said Drombosky. Not all operations start and finish with a happy ending. Drombosky cites the C-141 Starlifters parked nose-to-tail on Taxiway Lima during Desert Storm as a testimony to the air power of the Air Force. "The saddest time was seeing all those human remains, metal boxes, each draped with the U.S. Flag on a C-141 that could not make it into Dover Air Force Base due to weather," said Drombosky. "We had to make short-notice calls to the chaplain and honor guard." Drombosky is one of the few individuals on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst whose wealth of knowledge on the installation's history spans several decades. "George loves his job and is passionate about the airfield and the history of McGuire," said Keith Taylor, 305th OSS, McGuire airfield manager. "He occasionally forgets that all of us weren't here years ago when Taxiway Lima was a runway." Drombosky and the other airfield management personnel here coordinated the arrival of presidential, New York state and local leaders during the 9/11 attacks. They also had to locate and land military aircraft in addition to coordinating the Federal Emergency Management Agency team's arrival. It has not been all work and no play for Drombosky. Besides being a railroad train aficionado the soon-to-be retiree is also an avid model airplane builder who has built hundreds of airplanes since 1984. He even brought his love of aircraft models to JB MDL. His aircraft models are displayed at the base operations building, passenger terminal and 87th Air Base Wing Headquarters. "I think I speak for all airfield management personnel - past and present-, when I say, we don't consider him a co-worker, but a friend," said Taylor. Drombosky has been married for 40 years to his wife, Paulette. Note: Though Dromboskys' job title is Air Traffic Controller he has been performing Airfield Managers' duties for years (decades).