AFOTEC, 18th FLTS remember lost superintendent Published April 26, 2007 By 1st Lt. Charles Daze EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Master Sgt. Timothy M. Welk, from the 18th Flight Test Squadron, Detachment 1, unexpectedly passed away in his Lancaster, Calif. home April 11. Sergeant Welk was the CV-22 operations superintendent for the detachment. He supported the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Detachment 5, as a member of the CV-22 Integrated Test Team, a multi-service, multi-command team responsible for the realistic, objective and impartial testing of the CV-22 Osprey. Sergeant Welk graduated from Emmons Central High School, Strasburg, N.D., in 1981. He enlisted after high school, and after completing basic training and technical school, he spent four years as an armament load crew member on the F-111D airframe at the 524th Aircraft Maintenance Unit at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. He was also an armament load crew chief on the RF-4C at the 10th Aircraft Generation Squadron, Royal Air Force Alconbury, United Kingdom. In 1997, Sergeant Welk was hand-selected by Air Force Special Operations Command for his vast experience and technical knowledge to become the first Air Force V-22 Flight Engineer. He was assigned to Det. 1, 18th FLTS supporting the V-22 Multi-service Operational Test Team at Naval Air Station Patuxant River, Md. He was an integral part of moving the detachment to Edwards to begin dedicated CV-22 testing as part of the CV-22 Integrated Test Team. He flew 344 sorties logging 690 hours supporting Marine Corps and Air Force developmental testing. His contributions culminated with the formation of Air Education and Training Command's first CV-22 training squadron and AFSOC's first CV-22 operational squadron ready to support the Global War on Terrorism. He is survived by his mother, Eugenia Welk, sister, Linda Smestad, and brothers Duane and Allen Welk.