FLIGHT SAFETY NCO OF THE YEAR
By STAFF WRITER
MSGT EZEKIEL Z. DAHLKE
22 ARW, MCCONNELL AFB, KS
MSGT EZEKIEL Z. DAHLKE, 22d Airlift Wing, McConnell Air Force Base (AFB), KS, has been announced as Air Mobility Command (AMC) Flight Safety Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.
Dahlke coordinated an innovative initiative that utilized virtual technology to capture the 22 confined space areas in the KC-46, saving AMC $220,000 and 138 work-hours. The assessment pioneered safety classifications for the $40 billion global fleet amongst three allied nations, ensuring worldwide mission certification and bolstering the AMC Commander’s number one priority.
That is one of many accomplishments for Dahlke. He has implemented numerous innovative cost-saving measures and his leadership in mishap investigations and hazard mitigation has resulted in numerous Air Force (AF)-wide safety improvements. His efforts transformed maintenance training throughout the AF and resulted in Department of the Air Force training that exceeds Federal Aviation Administration standards.
With Dahlke’s guidance, nine base and local partners rectified 23 airfield discrepancies; an insecticide project conserved $300,000, a 92 percent cost reduction; and airfield ecosystem improvements reduced wildlife strikes on 6,400 pattern aircraft by 64 percent, resulting in annual savings of $339,000. He also managed the wing’s $275,000 Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard program, integrating Artificial Intelligence and bird migration models to forecast future bird watch conditions and reduce damaging bird strikes at McConnell AFB, saving $233,000 annually.
As the wing’s lead investigator, Dahlke’s role in mishap investigations and hazard mitigation exposed systemic industry and AF tracking errors and inspection criteria resulting in regulatory changes across the enterprise, including improved cargo loading procedures, revised operations and maintenance standards, and new aircraft taxi regulations. He authored a new process that accelerated 936 configuration changes and mitigated five critical hazards, leading to 100 percent mission certification for the $40 billion K-46 global fleet operations.
In a three-month gap without a Chief of Safety, Dahlke cultivated 14 new partnerships with local airports, amplifying the wing’s community scope 200 percent and culminating with zero hazardous traffic reports—a new AMC three-year quarterly low!