Commander shares his experience, vision

Col. D. Scott "Bull" Durham

Durham, a South Carolina native, has more than 4,900 of flight hours under his belt operating both C-5 and C-17 aircraft. He now leads a 1,750-person organization supporting Air Mobility Command's world worldwide airlift mission.

The 512th Public Affairs office sat down with him for a candid, one-on-one interview. Here is what the new wing commander had to say:

So how did you get the nickname "Bull"?

Have you seen my nose? (Just kidding) I originally started out in the Air Force as an air traffic controller, after my pilot training slot had been cancelled following my college graduation. So, whenever we transfer an aircraft from the control tower to the Radar Approach Control, you have to give your initials over the microphone. Saying "DD" (Derin Durham) just didn't work for some reason. One of my friends started calling me "Bull," in reference to the movie Bull Durham, which had been out a couple of years. We were also in North Carolina at the time, and have a local baseball team named the Durham Bulls. So, my friends suggested using "BD" as my initials since everyone calls me Bull anyway. Since then, it stuck and for the last 24 years, my military family has called me "Bull".

What led to your decision to become an officer in the Air Force Reserve?

Love of flight. Pure and simple. Active duty offered me a career path that terminated at age 41 as a Lieutenant Colonel. I could've retired and looked for an airline job, but I wanted to continue to serve. I had never been an executive officer, and I was not selected as a direct promotion to major. The writing was on the wall. After my original military commitment was up, I knew I could continue to fly C-17s until I hit my mandatory separation date in the Reserve. After transferring to the Reserve, an Air Reserve Technician job came along, which opened up a new realm of possibilities.

What can 512th AW reservists expect during your command here?

My job here is to provide perspective on what we do and how we do it. In order for any of it to work, we all must respect each other and respect the contributions we all make to the mission at Dover Air Force Base. We all hold ourselves to a higher standard, and I will do my best to honor that and reward solid performance, while providing a safe and fair work environment. My ultimate goal by the end of my tenure, folks will say I made it better here for them and that they have found their jobs more enjoyable. I would like to ensure that I, and the 512th AW leadership team, have made everyone feel their work was valued and appreciated. No matter if you are a traditional reservist, ART or civilian, you are all are an equally important part of this team.

You were at the Pentagon before you came back to Dover. Were there any key learnings or big takeaways from your last assignment that you can apply at the 512th AW?

I learned to have a better appreciation for how hard the average airman and civil servant work at the wing level. I also have a better understanding of how closely tied to the political process we all actually are. I've gained an understanding of how difficult a task it is for our senior leaders to balance all of the competing and often contradictory guidance and limitations on how we should do business. Our senior leadership talks about core values, ethics and principles not because they have to but because they want to. Any successful senior leader today must believe in the supreme truth that underpins all of our core teachings as it is the final answer, because many of these issues are not simply a yes or no.



Today's budget climate is certainly challenging, what do you think are the most important issues impacting the Reserve?

For the Reserve, it is attracting and retaining quality. The reservist we hire today will most likely be in that same unit for many years. We must get quality folks to keep other quality folks.
Part of the budget challenge is also paying our reservist. The evolution of the travel pay system we have cobbled together to reimburse reservists isn't right. Our business is moving large airplanes around the world. That requires large aircrews that just don't fit into the Defense Travel System construct. Then, you factor in the loss of 

manpower in the squadrons for those people who produce the orders and in the travel voucher sections, and you have a recipe for disaster. The whole process needs to be simplified. All things being equal, outstan

ding individual credit card debt due to unpaid vouchers could rapidly cripple this wing's ability to perform sustained operations in a full blown contingency crisis. This is a reserve centric problem. It affects volunteerism, and we need to recognize that and work to effectively manage it where we can. That's what I have to focus on here, and I plan to do that. This is a multi-tiered problem; I hope I possess the patience and can acquire the understanding to tackle this issue and fix it.

What are some activities you enjoy doing with your family?

Well, we had a sail boat, and we did that out on the Chesapeake Bay up until I sold it last year. Now, we work. The kids are 20, 18 and 16. They are all about to advance another year, so they have full lives in school and working their various jobs. My wife, Jennifer, also works as a respiratory therapist with Bay Heath at Kent General and Milford. So, like most families, we all have to put in our fair share to make ends meet. College is not cheap and moving around the country as a civil servant is not on the top 10 list for recommended ways to "make it" in the United States. It is a calling and a sacrifice, and we are all better people for it, I think.
Do you have any favorite pastimes, sports teams or hobbies? 

There's not much mechanically I can't fix. So, my past-time is working on things I tend to break at home - you name it: cars, computers, pumps, lawnmowers and televisions - whatever. I also do home repair, so flooring, siding, electrical, mechanical, tile, plumbing and gardening. Like I said, you name it, I probably can fix it, install it or grow it. I also used to keep bees and had five hives at one point. The neighbors didn't seem to appreciate it though, and I kept getting stung, so I had to give that up. 

Sports - I can take or leave. It's all so tedious trying to keep up with the teams and the players.  I have a bit of a moral dilemma seeing these people making so much money for what they do.  Don't get me wrong, more power to them, but I see how we treat our war heroes. Many of them are disabled or just physically past their prime. For example, a long-serving reservist who is ultimately forced out of something they love, because they can no longer pass the Physical Fitness Assessment. I empathize with those folks; we all age, and it just gets harder to recover from injuries, myself included. I still do the full PT, but I imagine my days are numbered - well my sit-ups and running are anyway.

Any closing remarks to your reservists?

Don't be afraid to make a decision. Most of the tough calls we have to make are only tough, because we know what we should do, but don't want to do it or are afraid of the outcome if it's wrong. I have seen more harm done through lack of action than from making a bad call. I don't hold grudges if you make a well-reasoned call, and it doesn't work out for you. Hey, you at least did something and hopefully you learned something, now back up and try something else.