A tribute to Airman First Class Jeremy S. Melvin Published Sept. 22, 2009 By Master Sgt. Danny Schneeweis and Staff Sgt. Christopher Davis 43rd Operations Support Squadron POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- On Aug. 28, Airman 1st Class Jeremy Scott Melvin, an Airfield Management Operations Coordinator with the 43rd Operations Support Squadron, was killed in a vehicle accident on Cedar Creek Road outside Fayetteville, N.C. He was 21 years old If there was one thing everybody in the 43rd OSS knew about Jeremy, it was how respectful he was as a young Airman. From the moment he arrived at Pope the level of respect he gave to everyone he met was amazing. From leadership down to the lowest ranking Airman it was always "yes sir, yes ma'am, no sir, no ma'am," which is a quality that's sadly missing from most First Term Airmen. At work, he was one the brightest Airmen we ever had. Jeremy was a Shift Lead, which carries the responsibilities of inspecting the runway, responding to emergencies, filing flight plans and disseminating crucial safety information to pilots. To work this position as an Airman is very rare, but Jeremy was highly capable and trusted. He was very knowledgeable of Airfield Management issues outside the realm of his responsibility, which was also very impressive. Outside of work, Jeremy was very quiet and ambitious. He was on the fast track to completing his Community College of the Air Force degree and, beyond that, his bachelor's degree. Jeremy earned more than 20 credits while stationed at Pope and still had time for volunteer activities. He was very active in the local community and on base. He sought out volunteer activities whenever he could. He did this not to look good, or earn a bullet, but because he truly cared about the local community and the base. He was extremely active in his church, Greater First Baptist Church, and volunteered there a few hours each week. For his efforts he earned the 43rd OSS Airman of the Quarter for the second quarter in 2009. He also expressed serious interest in becoming an officer and joining the ROTC program. Anyone who knew him would say Jeremy would have made an outstanding officer, leading the way for the Enlisted Corps. His dedication and performance to the Airfield Operations Flight was outstanding. Jeremy was the type of person who would always help out at work, from the small mundane tasks such as washing an ops vehicle to dedicating his time on important projects. He always performed his tasks with a smile. Jeremy was a very caring and considerate person. Once, at the beginning of his shift he noticed his flight superintendent working in the back office after returning from emergency leave. He was a bit frustrated and swamped with paperwork, Jeremy immediately asked if there was something he could do to help out. An important deadline involving the boss's squadron security manager duties was upcoming, and Jeremy smoothed the path by creating 58 new restricted area badge applications throughout the next two nights he was on duty. Although this wasn't his primary duty, he made it happen. This action was the catalyst that enabled the entire squadron to successfully exchange their line badges by the base deadline. Before his untimely death, he volunteered to deploy to Balad, Iraq, for third country national escort duty. He would have deployed this month. There's no doubt he would have performed admirable and bravely. His professionalism, sense of humor, eagerness to learn, ambitiousness and family-oriented persona will forever be remembered by our team, and he will be missed as a family member and friend.