William Welser III
18ft Air Force Commander
436 AW Commander at Dover AFB
Command Pilot, 3,500 hours in 20+ aircraft.
President of the AMC Museum Foundation
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal ++
William Welser III - William was born in Mineola, NY, the son of a decorated WWII Navy TBM Avenger Turret gunner. Commissioned through AFROTC at the University of Buffalo, he began his career as an aircraft maintenance officer assigned to bases in California and Thailand before attending pilot training.
Assigned as a C-14lpilot at Charleston AFB, SC, he served as crew scheduler and executive officer to the commander. At McGuire AFB, NJ, he rapidly progressed from instructor pilot to assistant Chief Pilot to Wing Chief of Airlift Management to Chief of Wing Current Operations followed by Operations Officer then Commander of the 6th Military Airlift Squadron.
Key career highlights: Commander of 18th AF, the largest USAF Numbered AirForce; Operations/logistics Director for U.S. Transportation Command during the Sept. ll,200l terrorist attacks where he led transportation operations supporting the U.S. response; Commander of the Tanker Airlift Control Center, Scott AFB, IL; Commander Air Mobility Warfare Center, Fort Dix NJ; After retirement, William became Northrop Grumman's Vice President for Air Mobility Systems; President of the Space Coast Honor Flight, FL, and the National Honor Flight Board; and Current President of the Air Mobility Command Museum Foundation at Dover AFB.
As Commander of the 436th AW at Dover AFB he developed and instituted the "Honorary Commander" program where civic leaders were matched with corresponding base unit commanders creating bridges between the base and community. A program instituted Air Force wide. He was selected as an Honorary Tuskegee Airman. He hosted a joint NASA/AMC Museum/DASF expo
that brought over 25,000 students to study NASA exhibits and talk to American astronauts. He acquired funding from Department of Defense to preserve the last remaining WWII hangar on the Delaware Air Force Base, and created a new access to the Air Mobility Command Museum.
This initiative saved the museum after 9/ll.
