CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
The community.
I can not think of a better place to be than Charleston, S.C.
In my 22 years of Air Force service, I've seen vast differences in the people and atmosphere outside our Air Force base gates. In some locations, people driving to work were greeted by protestors. At other locations, there weren't protestors but there wasn't much of any other type of activity outside the base either.
We're blessed to be stationed in a city that most people only visit on vacation. There are plenty of things to do, whether you're single, married, with kids or without. The community is what makes this a wonderful place to live and work.
By community, I mean the people who live here. They've opened up to us and allowed us to work and live here and not feel like we're outsiders.
The reason for our positive relationship with people off base is "you." How our Airmen interact with civilians off base has a big impact on the community's perception of our Air Force.
We do great things to maintain and improve this positive relationship. I hear many reports of Airmen choosing to volunteer whenever possible. Our Airmen are youth sports coaches, Boy Scouts pack leaders and middle school reading tutors. We also behave ourselves off base. The impact of an incident involving an Airman off base can have multiple adverse implications, especially in the fast-paced information age we live in. Thanks for doing your part to keep our community relationship strong.
Our military offices with ties to the public also do their part. The contracting squadron was just honored for its diligence in working with local service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses.
Every two years, our people come together to throw an incredible open house so that people understand the importance of airpower. Our public affairs office keeps our local community leaders involved with base activities through the honorary commander and advisory council programs, sharing our stories through the media, giving tours and supporting orientation flights for local people who have a great influence in the community.
Our Reserve partners also help make this relationship as good as it is. These citizen Airmen live and work in the civilian community and many have been in the area for a long, long time. Their efforts to share the Air Force story help to create an atmosphere off base where our Airmen, and the people already living here, can coexist peacefully.
Our community ties will become increasingly important as we continue our joint basing effort with Naval Weapons Station Charleston. We're not only showing the Air Force and Navy how it's done, but we're focused on doing everything we can to make sure the community is involved every step of the way.
Military people will most likely not stay here forever. While some will retire here and decide to stay, the vast majority of our Airmen will never again call Charleston home. However, right now, this is your home. Thank you for caring about the people in our community and for being such positive role models for all. Thank you for working hard to ensure that people living here understand what we do and who we are. We're making a difference every day and could not do it without your efforts in the community.
Team Charleston - Take the Fight to the Enemy!