JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Members of the Air Force and Navy at Joint Base Charleston hosted an annual tour March 18 for the Leadership Charleston 2010 class.
Leadership Charleston is a year-long program for professionals offering an intensive and up-close look at various sectors of the community. Participants in Leadership Charleston have the opportunity to explore and analyze issues which impact the region while focusing on fundamental leadership principles.
The tour offered the class a look at the inner workings of both Air Force and Navy operations, their contributions to the community and how joint basing will bring them closer together.
Air Force and Navy operations in the area already hold common ground, and class members displayed curiosity about what would remain the same and what would change - posing questions about funding, manpower and the future of equipping and transporting of mine-resistant, ambush-protected all-terrain vehicles.
To field the questions from nearly 50 class members, the students were provided direct contact with unit commanders and directors. Additionally, 628th Air Base Wing Commander Col. Martha Meeker spoke with the class and described the support role of her wing and the significance of the more than 40 tenant units it supports.
"Joint Base Charleston is not only the number one economic impact in the Lowcountry, we are now the Department of Defense's premier joint logistical hub," the colonel said. "We are, for OEF [Operation Enduring Freedom] surge, the number one airlift hub. We also are the number one sealift hub for military materials moving to Afghanistan. You can recognize that by our MRAPs and M-ATVs. We have it all - air, rail and sea."
The class tour kicked off with stops at Naval Weapons Station Charleston to see what the colonel described firsthand, including stops at Army Strategic Logistics Activity Charleston, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and the 841st Transportation Battalion.
The colonel explained how the unique missions and strong leadership behind each tenant unit can reap great benefits when providing support for their individual missions.
"There are some great advocates that we now have on our side, so I really don't see any burden. I see opportunity," she said. "I am the only Air Force commander that now owns a [naval] port. It's just a different culture now."
After a lunch at the Charleston Club here, the class was off for their second helping of insights, beginning with a tour and demonstration of M-ATVs by Lt. Col. Robert Neal, 437th Aerial Port Squadron commander and Senior Master Sgt. Scott Vendrely, 437 APS superintendent.
The colonel and senior NCO, aided by several Airmen, gave the class a review of M-ATV capabilities and discussed Joint Base Charleston's importance to the warfighter, serving as the sole air and sea port for transportation to where they are most needed in Afghanistan. The tour then proceeded with a drive along the flightline for a view of the C-17 fleet and the Airmen who keep them flying.
The last tour stop was at the 16th Airlift Squadron for an extensive briefing on the airlift, air delivery and aeromedical evacuation capabilities of the C-17 and Charleston aircrews. The briefing was conducted by Lt. Col. Michael Carr, pilot tactician with 437th Airlift Wing Combat Operations and Tactics, who provided insight from training and combat experience on what it takes to produce global reach and how the local Charleston community contributes to it every day.
"Charleston is a great community because we have a great relationship with the civilian people and civilian business; we support each other. It's a better relationship than any other base I've been stationed at," he said. "I thank you all for what you do, and thanks for coming today."