JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Military leaders throughout the state gathered in Columbia, South Carolina, Oct. 7, 2021, to meet with Governor Henry McMaster and the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs secretary, William Grimsley.
The annual Governor’s Commander Brief is a round table meeting between South Carolina government officials and military leaders from bases around the state to address concerns ranging from quality of life, infrastructure, affordable housing and higher education.
Governor McMaster led the meeting, acknowledging that South Carolina is a military friendly state.
“A lot of our people are military people,” McMaster said. “We have a lot of retirees as well as eight major bases. They’re growing and they’re going to be here a long, long time.”
U.S. Air Force Col. Marc Greene, 628th Air Base Wing and Joint Base Charleston commander, along with U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Rebecca Bateman, 628th ABW and JB Charleston command chief, briefed the Governor and SCDVA secretary.
Greene represented JB Charleston on behalf of the 67 Department of Defense organizations, federal agencies and the more than 70,000 uniformed and civilian professionals, families and retirees that work and reside on JB Charleston.
“Joint Base Charleston remains one of twelve joint bases in the Department of Defense,” Greene said. “We are the Air Force’s largest C-17 Globemaster III air base, with an inventory of 40 aircraft, valued at 9 billion dollars. We are a major United States Transportation Command multi-modal hub, where air, land, and sea-based logistics intersect.”
Greene highlighted that JB Charleston is an economic engine for the Low Country, accounting for more than 8.7 billion dollars in total annual impact. He also addressed the issues of congestion on Dorchester and Red Bank roads, and also spoke about JB Charleston’s recent participation in evacuating American citizens and refugees from Kabul, Afghanistan.
“I would also like to acknowledge the quiet but powerful professionals of Joint Base Charleston who supported recent operations into and out of Kabul, Afghanistan,” Greene said. “Airmen from JB Charleston played a pivotal role in nearly every aspect of the largest non-combatant evacuation in U.S. history. From loading and flying the first C-17s to Kabul carrying the initial forces that secured the airfield, to the last C-17s that executed the Joint Tactical Exfiltration of remaining U.S. forces in the final hours of this historic operation.”