CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
As Jill and I prepare to depart for Dover AFB, Del., and begin the next chapter in our Air Force lives, we'd like to offer a heartfelt "thank you" to Team Charleston for a truly wonderful ride! Over the last two years, we've watched with amazement and pride as you've won virtually every individual, unit and organizational award in Air Mobility Command and, in many instances, the Air Force and Department of Defense.
In 2005, you were runner-up in the granddaddy of them all ... the Commander in Chief's Installation Excellence Award ... and then won it all in 2006. You've broken records for cargo delivered in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom by picking up primary responsibility for 100 percent of air channel cargo destined for Iraq. You have saved untold hundreds of lives through rapid shipment of vehicle up-armor kits, new armored vehicles designed to defeat improvised explosive devices, ammunition, critical supplies and, most importantly, conducting thousands of combat aeromedical evacuations that offered countless servicemembers and their families hope and relief in the midst of tragedy.
As if that were not enough, you've gone on to break timed airdrop records, and then stunned the entire command and made national headlines by first launching a world record 17-ship formation ... and then broke your own record the next year with a 20-ship formation that left every other wing in the world gasping for air. No other wing, and no other nation, could completely empty a ramp of 51 C-17s with 100 percent departure reliability -- Completely unmatched!
Perhaps even more impressively, you have literally ignited the command with initiative and ingenuity. Charleston co-authored the concept of operations for the "two expeditionary airlift squadron" concept, and then field tested it in combat. Results: production skyrocketed, C-17s swept Iraq and Afghanistan of backlogged cargo and operational tempo dropped to its lowest level since 9/11. As a direct result, the Air Force credits C-17s with removing more than 2,600 trucks and nearly 6,500 soldiers from Iraq's highways saving countless lives.
When Gen. Duncan McNabb, AMC commander, talks Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century, he mentions Charleston's velocity initiative. By reducing the C-17 alert sequence by 1 hour and 30 minutes or 55 percent, you've "bought" Air Mobility Command the equivalent of 5 C-17s $1.0 billion at zero taxpayer cost. At the same time, you've streamlined maintenance, aerial port operations and battle tested and implemented an inaugural Joint Precision Airdrop capability in Afghanistan. You cut base energy usage by approximately 5 percent per year, powered the base with renewable energy, served as the test base for electric cars in the Air Force, and a host of other initiatives that make Team Charleston, effectively, America's only "operational strategic airlift battle lab."
Most importantly, you've done it all as a team. Our Airmen follow better, lead earlier, and care for one another more compassionately ... on and off duty ... than at any wing I've ever been associated with. A passion for improvement, an expectation of personal and organizational excellence, institutionalized wingman culture, and a whole lot of fun...all hallmarks of Team Charleston. I've never been so privileged or so proud to share a uniform with so many world class professionals. It's been an incredible ride--thanks for the lessons, the excitement, the friendships and, most importantly, your service. America deserves the best...and Team Charleston gives it every hour, of every day, around the world. Team Charleston ... one family, one mission, one fight!