CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Team Charleston ... as we continue to move forward in 2009, we will face new challenges and opportunities. As you demonstrated firsthand in 2008, a can-do attitude and commitment to excellence can make even daunting tasks manageable.
In the months ahead, it is imperative we maintain this same dedication and work ethic in everything we do. Not only will we undergo a Unit Compliance Inspection in May, in the months to follow, we will continue our efforts in bringing Charleston AFB and the Naval Weapons Station Charleston together under a joint base.
Though joint basing in some respects is a new concept, fighting the global war on terrorism as a joint team is not. Joint basing provides us the opportunity to build closer relationships and forge stronger ties between services. We will not only train as we fight, we will live as we fight.
Through the joint basing initiative, we hope to identify and capture significant savings through consolidation of support services and, at the same time, examine and implement opportunities for greater joint activity.
We are about to meet another major milestone in this joint basing journey as we prepare for the Office of Secretary of Defense to visit here the first week in March to review our entire memorandum of agreement in great detail. Some of the areas the MOA outlines include: financial arrangements, installation support output levels and financial and performance reporting requirements to name a few. This massive document presents not only how we anticipate the joint base to operate after we merge, but also continues the plan to achieve the Joint Base Charleston standup.
The OSD Workshop will begin when senior-level OSD representatives, as well as senior Air Force and Navy leadership, arrive here March 2. This team will spend the next three-and-a-half days interviewing each of the 33+ Functional Working Groups and reviewing their respective documentation describing how they will merge, look and operate as part of the joint base.
The FWGs, comprised of both Charleston AFB Airmen and their NWSC counterparts, have been working through a myriad of issues for more than three years. Completion of this examination, with its extreme levels of scrutiny, will put Joint Base Charleston one huge step closer to reality.
More than 100 guests as well as distinguished visitors are expected to attend this workshop. Once the review from OSD is complete, FWGs will finish any revisions that result from the workshop. From there, the MOA will be sent off for staff coordination and then to the vice chiefs of staff of both the Navy and Air Force for signature.
Later this year, a new Air Base Wing will stand up and then, in January 2010, the joint base will begin operations, known as Initial Operating Capability, where we will begin transitioning functions from both the 437th Airlift Wing and the NWSC, with completion expected in October 2010.
Though there are numerous changes for Team Charleston on the horizon, I am confident that, as a joint base, we will be an even more efficient installation from which we, and our sister services, will more effectively project combat power for our nation.
Team Charleston - Take the Fight to the Enemy!