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Show July 1, 1992 Hill unit celebrates25 years of excellence .It by TSgt. Julia D. Hayden Detachment 5 Hilltop Times fcr 8, 2nd Combat Camera Squadron A lot has happened to Detachment Camera Squadron, since its creation 25 years ago. The squadron, part of the Air Mobility Command, has endured several 4s : v 8, 2nd Combat ' , ""-- . . facelifts by way of its name, command, work place, equipment and technology advancement. But through the years, its members still say it is one of the best places to work in the Air Force. "It can suck you in and hold you forever," one member said. "It seems once people are assigned here, they never leave. And the ones who do leave for another assignment or retire, come back." The detachment began in 1967 with a crew working out of a mobile television van and a vacant warehouse when the Ogden Air Logistics Center was known as the Ogden Materiel Area. Their original charter was to produce black and white programs on bulky videotape, which was then copied onto film or videotape for distribution. In comparison, an average videocassette recorder plays back videotape. detachment in the technology Early painted a much different portrait of towork environment day's high-tec"I remember in the early days, when I was an enlisted maintenance technician, trying to get an entire session on tape, without a glitch or a fumble," said Larry Fukunaga, chief of Technical Services. "Any mistake meant starting over again." In 1969, new studio equipment and office renovations upgraded the unit's er two-inc- h one-inc- h 12-inc- h h 30-minu- te tP I its first shot at proving the worth of IVD on a radar maintenance course ? " r with the 1878th School Squadron, Keesler AFB, Miss. It took more than three months of days to comwhich the course, proved to be a plete valued and effective approach in teaching maintenance, according to Det. 8 12-ho- 'V V: . officials. l $1 VA iS,- File photo F-4- D high-qualit- semi-vaca- self-contain- nt ed C-1- Several more courses followed and soon IVD helped fill a need as well as improve existing training in technical areas. By 1989, Det. 8 was established as the primary source for IVD courses in the Department of Defense. As the 1980s came to a close, the detachment added two mobile TV production vans to their arsenal. This year's restructure has generated yet another realignment and name change for the Air Force's audiovisual resources. The television services are now the Air Combat Camera Service, and while some locations were reduced or closed, Det. 8 grew. As for the future of the detachment, the commander sees a challenge as he looks ahead. "We will be busier than ever," said Maj. Dean Fowler. "Our reputation for quality customer-focuse- d support brings us business throughout the Air Force, including the Air Force Chief of Staff's office and other federal agencies." The major also said with increased demand for IVD and linear training programs and enhanced mobility requirements, the detachment will be on diesel-powere- d - SSgt. Bruce Norton, a video cameraman with Det. 8 in 1975, videotapes an on the Hill AFB flight line for an Ogden Air Logistics Center depot maintenance training video. Norton is using the unit's first portable video camera. capabilities However, that summer the detachment was split in half as 13 people left Hill for Robins AFB, Ga.f with the mobile van, to establish a new TV production detachment. A few year's later, the warehouse was full of office equipment, and they began producing film in color. In addition, a husky missile transporter van was remodeled as a video production facility. Rich Ambrose, an Air Force captain at that time and producerdirector, remembers the problems they had the first time they loaded the van into a Hercules. "They had to let the ur y air out of the van's tires," he said. "The van was just that much taller than the cargo doors." Ambrose is now a civilian producerdirector with Det. 8. In 1976, the oversized TV van was replaced by a smaller custom-fittevan. Manning soon increased with the higher demand for video productions and crews soon put mileage on their new van traveling to bases throughout the Western United States. In the early 1980s, Donald Broad-heaa Det. 8 producerdirector, saw the potential of interactive video-disprograms as a means of tailoring maintenance course information to individual students. In 1984, Det. 8 got C-1- d d, c a fast track. "With dedicated teamwork, we will continue to make it happen well into the 21st century," he said. 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