Joint Base Charleston, S.C.
Vol. 5, No. 31
Patriot Team Charleston – One Family, One Mission, One Fight!
Friday, August 29, 2014
U.S. Air Force photo / Eric Sesit
Cmdr. Patrick Boyce, Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston commanding officer, gives a security brief to Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Jessica L. Garfola Wright, Aug. 22, 2014, at the NCBC on Joint Base Charleston, S.C. Wright was on a two-day tour of JB Charleston to observe the active-duty and Reserve missions. The mission of Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston is to ensure the security, good order, discipline and safety of adjudged and pretrial prisoners; to retrain and restore the maximum number of personnel to honorable service; to prepare prisoners for return to civilian life as productive citizens; and when directed by superior authority, detain enemy combatants in accordance with guidance from the President via the Secretary of Defense.
Under Secretary of Defense visits JB Charleston Talks with Airmen and Sailors on Friday
Spends Saturday with 315th reservists
The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Jessica L. Garfola Wright, completed the first day of a two-day visit to Joint Base Charleston, S.C. Aug. 22, 2014, to witness joint basing in action and observe the active duty and Reserve missions. Wright is the senior policy advisor to the Secretary of Defense on recruitment, career development, pay and benefits for 1.4 million active-duty military personnel, 1.1 million Guard and Reserve personnel, 748,000 Department of Defense civilians, and is responsible for overseeing the overall state of military readiness. Wright began her day with a mission briefing highlighting the more than 60 DOD agencies comprising JB Charleston, and featuring leaders from the Navy, Army and Air Force; active duty and Reserve - a first look at the diversity she would see throughout her visit. Following the briefing, Wright learned about the C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlift mission at the Air Base, a mission shared by both active-duty and Reserve Airmen, before beginning an immersion tour of the
Jessica Wright, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, spent Aug. 23, enjoying breakfast with active-duty and Reserve Airmen in the Gaylor dining facility on Joint Base Charleston, S.C. She asked Staff Sgt. David Rippy, 315th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, if he had ever been to the Pentagon. "No, I don't know anyone there," he responded. "Well, now you know someone there, you should come visit," Wright said with a smile. Wright explained to the Airmen that when she was in the Army National Guard she flew CH-47 Chinook and UH-1 Huey helicopters. Senior Airman Austin Gause, a 317th Airlift Squadron loadmaster, asked if the Army also had loadmasters. "We call them flight engineers," Wright said. "But when it comes to calculating the cargo load weight, the pilots are responsible for that." Wright spoke at the base theater to 315th Airlift Wing aircrew members, at a 315th Operations Group symposium, and later at an "All Call" open to reservists, active-duty airmen and civilians.
By Eric Sesit Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs
17,000-acre Weapons Station. After lunch with a group of 20 students from the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command at the Naval Weapons Station galley, Wright conducted a Navy 'All Hands' call at the Bowman Center on the NNPTC campus and answered questions from among the 500 Sailors in attendance. Wright prefaced her remarks and encouraged Sailors to ask questions by stating, "After 35 years serving in uniform, I understand what it's like to grow up in our system and I understand that change is difficult." Possible changes to areas like health care, retirement systems, housing allowances and commissaries formed the subject of many of the questions Sailors asked Wright. Wright specifically addressed the issue of tobacco use to demonstrate some of the challenges facing the military. "Tobacco related illnesses cost the DOD more than $1 billion a year, so we have to decide how to address this issue," she said. "We have found that many of our young service members begin to smoke after joining the military. Why is that, and how do we fix it? Do we quit selling tobacco products at the Exchanges? What about overseas where cigarettes and tobacco products may See Under Secretary - Friday, Page 3
By Michael Dukes 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
She immediately addressed a key concern most military members have - the uncertain future of the Defense Department budget and what that means for their jobs. "We will be in a world of hurt," she said bluntly, "if Congress does not do away with sequestration." Wright said that currently the DOD was looking at a 1 percent pay raise in 2015 instead of 1.8 percent. "This will help us to be more able to focus on quality of life." But she said everything is in "Jello" right now and can change. The Undersecretary explained that once the drawdown is completed in Afghanistan there will no longer be congressional justification to have Reserve and Guard members on long term orders, but with several "hot spots" that continue to develop in places like Iraq, Syria and Ukraine, "we will still be as busy as we have been since 9-11," she said, "so we are looking for other options," to continue the mission. During the question and answer session, Lt. Col. Stan Davis, 317th AS commander, described one of the biggest challenges he faces as a leader. He said reservists currently spend a majority of their time with recurring training requirements rather than their actual See Under Secretary - Saturday, Page 3
JB Charleston hosts Major Accident Response Exercise Story by Senior Airman Dennis Sloan Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs
INSIDE
Joint Base Charleston held its first functional Major Accident Response Exercise Aug. 20, 2014, at North Auxiliary Air Field. This is the first time in nearly 10 years a MARE has been held at North Field. "Last year's table-top exercise set-up the capability for us to hold a functional MARE," said David Hunt, JB Charleston Deputy Inspector General. North Field is used for C-17 Globemaster III training and can also be used as an emergency landing strip if aircraft need to land due to in-flight emergencies. The MARE simu-
lated a C-17 in-flight emergency resulting in a simulated crash at North Field. "We held the exercise to evaluate our capability to respond to such an event," said Capt. David Sustello, exercise planner. "We also evaluated our ability to properly recover personnel and equipment in addition to preserving the site for a safety inspection board to investigate the incident." North Field is geographically separated from JB Charleston by nearly 70 miles, an hour and a half trip by car, so the fire department located at North Field would serve as first responders in case of an emergency. Once Air Base officials are alerted of a crash, the base's fire department, emergency management and other agencies would make their
GEN. MEEKER PROMOTIONS Former base commander visits
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315th AW announces O-5 selectees
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SURVEY
Exchange shoppers have their say
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way to the scene. "Aside from our base assets, we have a working relationship with Orangeburg County Fire Department and Emergency Management office that helps with augmenting the recovery process in the event of a crash," said Hunt. "Base personnel respond first, but with Orangeburg County services minutes from North Field, we get the extra help when needed." Orangeburg County emergency agencies participated in the exercise by being Emergency Management and Fire Department role players. Communication between the local community responders and the Air Force was also tested during the exercise. See MARE, Page 4
WEEKEND WEATHER UPDATE for Joint Base Charleston, SC Partly Cloudy
Sunny Day
Friday, Aug 29
(10% precip)
High 92º Low 74º
Saturday, Aug 30
(20% precip)
High 91º Low 75º
See Joint Base Charleston on Facebook! - Follow Discussions, Connect With Your Base! CYAN-AOOO
MAGENTA-OAOO
YELLOW-OOAO
BLACK 01/29/08
PM T-Storms
Sunday, Aug 31
(50% precip)
High 92º Low 77º