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NEWS | July 13, 2011

628 ABW commander excited to continue JB CHS excellence

By Col. Richard McComb Joint Base Charleston commander

First, let me say thanks to the 628th Air Base Wing and Joint Base Charleston community for the warm reception that my wife Phylis and I have received this past week. It is clear that hospitality is an important tradition in the Lowcountry and JB CHS is no exception to that rule.

For Phylis and I, yesterday's change of command left us feeling very much like we had just won the lottery. We both feel very fortunate and honored to be entrusted with command of a wing, and at a joint base to boot. When Phylis and I began our Air Force journey some 23 years ago, neither of us would have ever imagined that we would one day be given one of the greatest opportunities of a lifetime and certainly of an Air Force career.

Over the last year, I've had the fortune of being assigned to the Headquarters Air Mobility Command Directorate of Installations and Mission Support staff, where I had the opportunity to become educated on joint basing. Having attended a number of joint base meetings, it is clear to me that JB CHS has done phenomenal work in transitioning to a joint base and working through the myriad of policy and operational challenges that very few, if any of us could have anticipated until reaching full operational capability last October. My hat is off to the command team, military, civilian and family members who have moved the ball so far down the field since that time.

As I settle into this command, we will no doubt collectively refine the areas that we believe require our greatest effort. With that said, my initial priorities are fairly straightforward and capitalize on the great work already in full swing here at the 628 ABW and JB CHS. First, we will ensure safe, secure and efficient operations in providing first-class support to all our joint base partners. The business of the 628 ABW is providing installation support across the entire joint base. As such, our report card is based on how well we enable our mission partners in meeting their home station and wartime tasks. In delivering this support, we will not cut corners on safety and security, and we will always search for better ways to accomplish the task at hand.

Next, we will ensure our readiness to respond effectively to any contingency at home and to provide support to the joint warfighter. Although much of our effort, and rightly so, is focused on preparing our military members to deploy and support the joint fight, we cannot forget that our combat capability starts here at JB CHS. We must be prepared to respond to any emergency event, whether man-made or natural disaster, and ensure the continuity of mission operations. And when we do prepare to send our military members abroad, we must guarantee that they are available to the joint warfighter when required and are properly trained and equipped to complete their mission tasks. Our November Operational Readiness Inspection will evaluate our ability to do just that, and we will put a great deal of effort into ensuring that we can prepare for and execute our expeditionary mission, as well as supporting those of our joint base partners.

Third, we will do everything we can to support and care for our military and civilian members and their families. This imperative runs the gamut from building resiliency in our military members, providing adequate family and unaccompanied housing, to ensuring access to family support services and Morale Welfare and Recreation activities throughout the joint base community. In today's high operational tempo, we must not forget that the bedrock of our success as a military is our people and their families that support them.

Finally, we will continue the joint base transition taking the lead for innovation and efficiencies where possible. Although we're still in the early stages of a multi-year process in realizing the vision of joint bases as engines of innovation and efficiency, I have no doubt there are actions we can take today to make things better - faster, more economical and more effective in meeting the customer's needs. And although there will be some hurdles for us to cross as we move forward, these ideas could and should come from any service component within the joint base community.

As Phylis and I travel around the installation in the weeks and months ahead, we look forward to meeting as many of Joint Base Charleston's military, civilian and family members as we can and getting your feedback on other areas that you believe should be a command priority. Tell us how we're doing and how we can make it better.

Thank you for what you do each day supporting JB CHS and its many mission partners. See you soon.