Dover Air Force Base is a vital shipment point for lethal and nonlethal aid to the Ukrainian military, with shipments largely bound for depots in Poland.
Base Commander Colonel Matthew Husemann says in the past ten months, millions of pounds of military equipment and other supplies passed through Dover on their way to Eastern Europe.
“It started on February 24, 2022. And we’ve been working since then," he said. "We’ve worked that out to 204 missions, with 33.7 million pounds [of supplies]." The vast majority of the supplies sent to Ukraine via Dover has been so-called "lethal aid."
The base is also expanding its facilities, with work underway on a new residential building with over 100 units and a new on-base elementary school building.
Husemann also noted that active-duty personnel in Dover are receiving temporary increases in housing stipends – one of twenty-eight bases nationwide to see increases. Dover personnel received a 28 percent increase in their housing stipend, or an increase from roughly $1,700 to roughly $2,150.
But Base Commander Colonel Matthew Husemann says they must keep in mind not every base employee is getting that increased support.
"It came to the active-duty side, and it didn’t come to our reservists that work here, the civilians," he added.
Roughly half of the staff at Dover Air Force Base are active duty. The temporary increase in housing assistance expires next year.
