JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
As I prepare for my upcoming change of command in July and reflect on my past three years as commanding officer of Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, I want to give a special thanks to the Joint Base Charleston team and to all of you who shared in our collective vision to make Charleston a joint logistics, transportation and engineering hub.
The journey we have taken together as JB CHS has been special. I am especially proud of the way the joint team rallied in support of the Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected vehicle program.
In the past three years, I have learned much about the professionalism and dedication that exist in this joint community. I appreciate the fact that the level of success we have achieved has been due to the fact that a large number of very capable professionals come to work each morning and make sure the job is done and done well.
This has been a very busy time at SSC Atlantic, as we have seen our existing east coast SPAWAR Systems Centers merge and become SSC Atlantic; we've continued the successful C4ISR integration of MRAP vehicles - more than 24,000 MRAPs and MRAP All Terrain Vehicles integrated; sustainment of our internet café program - now 900 cafes strong throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans - giving warfighters a communications capability unlike any in the annals of armed conflict; not to mention our support to the Navy fleet: approximately 3,984 ship and 1,647 shore worldwide installs completed in the last three years (valued at more than $625 million.)
I've traveled around the globe to meet our deployed employees, industry partners and customers and I never ceased to be amazed at how our strong, dedicated team contributes to joint and combined operations in ways no one could have imagined. To see our JB CHS people in action is to know how good they are.
In leaving this wonderful area, I am reminded of the day just three short years ago my family and I arrived here from Norfolk, Va., with no idea what to expect from our new community. We learned right away that Charleston is a special place, as we were welcomed with open arms and true southern hospitality.
Now, as we start to pack our belongings and look ahead to a new duty station, my family and I express our deepest gratitude for the teamwork, the friendships and above all the hospitality. We will greatly miss everything Charleston and our Joint Base family have to offer. I could not have expected or asked for more. My relief, Capt. Mark Glover, is ready and eager to assume his new role as commanding officer of SSC Atlantic.
I will leave here with what you have given me - pride in mission and an abiding confidence in the future. I admire you all and will watch with pride as you continue to grow and excel. And I will surely miss you. Thank you.