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Howland native retiring from reserves after 35 years
HOWLAND
Air Force Reserve Col. Tim Tarchick, a native of Howland and commander of Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga., and its 94th Airlift Wing since 2010, recently retired after 35 years of military service.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Tarchick of retirement. “For the last 12 years, I have been a wing commander. It’s what I do. I’ll certainly miss it.”
Tarchick, 53, is a 1978 graduate of Howland High School and received a business degree in 1984 from Youngstown State University.
He enlisted in the Air Force in 1978 and was stationed for 10 years at the 910th Airlift Wing at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, where he was an X-ray technician and load master for three years each, and was a navigator after receiving his commission in 1984 from Officer Training School.
Tarchick is the son of George and Amy Hudak Tarchick of Howland. He has three sisters: Mary Kay Greskovich of Niles, Susan Martin of Columbus and Chrissy Dellimuti of Oliveda, Fla.
He and his wife, Cindee, have six children: Anthony in Utah; Brittany Newland in Georgia; and Hannah, Emma, Cade and Holly, all at home. They plan to stay in the Canton, Ga., area.
During his Air Force career, Tarchick led three organizations such as the 910th at YARS.
The 94th is composed of some 2,500 Air Force reservists and civil service professionals and has an aircraft complement of eight C-130s used to provide combat airlift for contingency operations around the globe.
Tarchick also was responsible for the entire Dobbins installation, which was home to about 12,000 employees for tenant units at the base including the 22nd Air Force, Air Force Plant 6 and Lockheed-Martin; the Georgia Army and Air National Guard; and Army, Navy and Marine Corps reserve units.
He earned his navigator wings at Mather Air Force Base, Calif., in September 1985 and is a master navigator with more than 6,000 flying hours in airlift, air refueling and combat search and rescue aircraft.
In August 2005, he led the first Air Force rescue operation that responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the Gulf Coast, where his crews safely evacuated some 1,049 people.
“Some of my proudest moments were seeing our C-130s bringing our airmen home from their deployment to the Middle East last year. We’ve had people deployed 24/7, 365 days a year since I’ve been here, and we always complete our missions with honor,” Tarchick said.
He also served as wing commander at the 920th Rescue Wing in Cocoa Beach, Fla., the 934th Airlift Wing, Minneapolis Air Reserve Station, Minn.
A veteran of numerous operations, Tarchick flew C-130 Hercules missions in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield; combat missions into Sarajevo, Bosnia, during the siege of the city; and missions into Louisiana and Texas in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
He has flown more than 6,200 hours in seven versions of the C-130 Hercules Transport aircraft, the KC-135E/R Stratotanker refueling aircraft, and the HH-60 Pave Hawk combat search and rescue helicopter.
Tarchick said serving as commander at Dobbins has been an “extremely rewarding experience and fitting end to my Air Force career.”
“Not everyone gets the opportunity to command. Our airmen give up a lot to serve. This is something bigger than any one person. It’s been an honor and privilege to serve as the commander here at Dobbins,” Tarchick said.
“I’ve given a lot of thought to my legacy over the past 35 years. I’d like people to know I tried to do the right thing no matter what. I gave it everything I had, worked hard every day and tried to improve and make whatever unit I was in better. I treated people with humility, love and respect. I tried to balance work and family as best as I possibly could, and made my family a priority many times over the military. I had fun even though this is a very serious profession,” he said.