CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
One strength of our Armed Forces is tradition and I am a firm believer in the honored traditions our Air Force continues to provide -- namely the Air Force club system and its contributions to the morale and welfare our people.
Base clubs have always been a focal point for the social traditions of the Air Force. The club's success is dependent on the support it receives from eligible members. An outstanding club system requires both membership and participation.
Membership in our club could definitely be better. Out of 614 active-duty officers eligible to be members, only 204, or 33 percent, are members. Out of 3,198 eligible enlisted Airmen, only 676, or 21 percent, are members. Yet Charleston Airmen are using and benefiting from the club whether they are members or not. They are using it for lunch buffets, for meeting places, for Airman Leadership School graduations, for Diamond Sharp award ceremonies, for First Term Airman Center graduations, for promotion ceremonies, for annual and quarterly awards ceremonies, for Holiday parties, for hail and farewell celebrations and much more.
The non-appropriated funds that the club generates pays for (or subsidizes) Youth Programs, the library, the Outdoor Recreation Center, Wrenwoods Golf Course, Starlifter Lanes, the skeet range, the Arts and Crafts Center, the auto hobby shop, the base swimming pool and more. Alternatively, when it does not receive adequate backing, the club draws resources away from those other activities.
That's why club membership is a professional responsibility; it provides a forum to preserve and enhance a variety of military traditions, while also making Charleston AFB a better place for our members and their families to live and play.
I fully realize declining trends in membership and participation is directly proportional to the level of programming and support the club can provide. As leaders within the 437th and 315th Airlift Wings, I ask you to join me in taking a few steps in helping the 437th Services Squadron "Can-Do-Crew" deliver a first-rate club program.
First, ensure that your squadrons have a representative appointed to club advisory committees. Second, speak about the clubs at your next commander's call and encourage your people to support them. Last but not least, encourage your people to use the club suggestion program via comment cards.
If the services squadron is not meeting customer needs, give them the opportunity to meet those needs with the help of your feedback. Your demonstration of leadership support, regardless of rank, is needed to rekindle the long standing traditions of camaraderie, belonging and sense of community that have always been built through club participation. Join me in making Charleston AFB a better place to live and work.
Give the club a chance; you'll be surprised at everything they have to offer as well as supporting our mission and being a part of the link that ties our core values to time-honored institutional activities. I look forward to seeing you there.