CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Physically. Spiritually. Emotionally. Financially. Are you ready to deploy?
More than 800 Team Charleston warriors are currently downrange helping to deliver freedom and save lives. Later this year, we'll be tested on our ability to survive and operate in a deployed and hostile environment when we participate in an Expeditionary Operational Readiness Inspection in late October. With about a quarter of our Airmen deployed at all times, why do we still need to be inspected? It's because we are charged with a no-fail mission and must be ready for anything we're tasked to do.
We'll be participating in exercises from now until our EORI that will hone our skills so we'll wow the inspectors. Our mobility process machine will be put to the test. We'll be asked to work in a chemical warfare environment. Our ability to survive and operate in unfamiliar, sometimes hostile situations will not only help us pass this inspection, but prepare us for what we may see while deployed.
Your future deployment may be different from your last. Airmen are filling Army and Marine Corps billets in some of the most dangerous parts of Iraq and Afghanistan. At Charleston you may be a vehicle mechanic and downrange they may need you to fill in as a gunner in a convoy. We must have a warrior mentality despite what our duty titles say we're supposed to do. You never know when a humvee you're riding in will hit an IED or when you'll need to perform self-aid buddy care on a fellow servicemember. These exercises will help hone your skills and better prepare you to save lives here at home and in a deployed environment.
Thanks for all the phenomenal work you're doing to improve Team Charleston! Everyday, we're hard at work using Air Force Smart Operations 21 to improve processes, mission accomplishment, and customer support. We're doing things safer, faster and cheaper. We're eliminating waste and non-valued added steps as we finetune how we do our mission. Keep embracing the changes that are on the horizon, learn the new ways of doing business and continue to imagine the realm of possibilities that lie ahead! As we embrace this new culture of change, we'll continue to save lives AND water the eyes of the AMC Inspector General team in October!
A huge part of real-world deployments is family readiness. Our Airman and Family Readiness Flight has many programs to help family members while deployed. One that I'd like to highlight is the Phoenix Spouse program. One of the main roles of a Phoenix Spouse is communicator and wingman! The unit commander and first sergeant work with the Phoenix Spouse to get information to unit families and to help families communicate their concerns with unit leadership. Our greatest asset is our people and one of our greatest strengths is how we take care of our families. Communication is vital! Many families are experiencing a deployment for the first time and they are unsure of the myriad of support services available to help them while their loved ones are away. Please volunteer your services as a Phoenix Spouse to make deployments easier on our military families. Contact the A&FRF for more information on this program and how you can start making a difference.
Team Charleston is the Premier Airlift Team in our United States Air Force and you make me proud every day! Take care of yourselves and each other. Team Charleston -- One family, one mission, one fight!