Joint Base Charleston
Patriot Vol. 2, No. 38
Team Charleston – One Family, One Mission, One Fight!
Friday, September 30, 2011
USS Vicksburg makes port in downtown Charleston The GuidedMissile Cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69) sits pier-side, downtown Charleston, S.C., Sept. 23. The Vicksburg moored at the Columbus street terminal in the port of Charleston from Sept. 23 until Sept. 26. See the story on Page 3.
U.S. Air Force photo/ Staff Sgt. Nicole Mickle
INSIDE CATM
Joint Base Charleston celebrates 1st birthday By Eric Sesit Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs Special thanks to 628th Air Base Wing historian Jason Axberg for his excellent historical narrative of the Joint Base process on which this article is based.
Weapons training See page 11
MILITARY BALL Camaraderie and ceremony See page 7
RIVER SWEEP Annual river cleanup See page 8
Charleston, SC Friday, September 30 Partly Cloudy (10% precip)
High 86º Low 56º
Saturday, October 1 Sunny (0% precip)
High 69º Low 48º
Sunday, October 2 Sunny (0% precip)
High 66º Low 51º
It's been one year since the Naval Weapons Station and the Charleston Air Force base merged to form the entity now known as Joint Base Charleston. So, what have the benefits been to the base and its population during the past year? In order to do that, we must first take a look back at how the Navy and Air Force worked together to build a single joint team and one of the largest employers in the state of South Carolina. The Joint Basing process began as a result of the congressionally mandated 2005 Base Realignment and Closure report. The idea was to merge 26 individual military bases into 12 joint bases, bases that would be U.S. Air Force photo / Staff Sgt. Nicole Mickle run by one Department of Defense agency which Master Chief Petty Officer Billy Cady and Chief Master Sgt. Jose Lugo-Santiago discuss ship would provide infrastructure support to all the supportmooring procedures while the Guided-Missile Cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69) is guided pier-side, ed and tenant units. By combining the infrastructure of downtown Charleston, S.C, Sept. 23. The Vicksburg moored at the Columbus street terminal in the the bases under one command, the DoD aimed to cut port of Charleston from Sept. 23 until Sept. 26. Cady is the Naval Support Activity command masback on redundant efforts and save money. ter chief and Lugo-Santiago is the Joint Base Charleston command chief. Planning for the creation of JB CHS began in 2006 as data was collected from all the different commands and agencies on focuses on locating compatible tenant and supported command missions both the Weapons Station and the Air Base. Once the data collection was within separate clearly delineated districts based on their current footprint, complete, a Joint Base Partnership Council was developed and using the function, security requirements and future growth and mission. The plan collected data, set out to keep all the participating agencies on track in provides clear demarcation between environmentally sensitive areas and meeting the requirements set forth by the Office of the Secretary of future development of the Weapons Station and addresses current and future parking requirements and management. The plan also dictates a uniDefense. "Common Output Level Standards or COLS were provided by OSD form signage style across both bases, emphasizing the joint base unity of which spelled out requirements and responsibilities for the new joint the Weapons Station and Air Base. All the units on the Air Base have felt the impact of Joint Basing, some base," said Carter Hayes, Business Office division chief. "There are 274 COLS that must be reported on quarterly to the Joint Base commander. much more so than others. The 628th Civil Engineer Squadron was The COLS ensure that each organization within JB CHS is meeting the already responsible for 291 facilities and 476 military and family housing units on 3,500 acres of the Air Base. As FOC became reality, the 628 CES standards set by OSD." As Oct. 1, 2010 approached, bringing with it Joint Base Charleston's took on the added responsibility of an additional 15,000 acres with 1,063 Full Operational Capacity date, units worked on transferring funding, additional facilities at the Weapons Station, greatly increasing the unit's deciphering communication issues, writing Memorandums of workload. The 628th Communication's Squadron had the responsibility of impleUnderstanding and working on personnel issues. And although the cultural differences between the Air Force and the Navy were enormous, they menting a joint system that would add 47 locations to their network, conremained just that: cultural issues. The professionalism of the people necting an additional 400 users. Additionally, a Giant Voice system, staninvolved kept the cultural issues at bay as Sailors and Airmen and civilians dard on most Air Force installations, had to be installed on the Weapons worked within the constructs provided by OSD to seamlessly merge the Station. The 628 CS needed to install 22 Giant Voice announcement towers covering 23,000 acres on the Weapons Station. two bases. The 628th Force Support Squadron saw its mission greatly expanded. "The goal for everyone involved in making this transition was to move to a Joint Base environment as seamlessly as possible," said Hayes. "To do Joint Basing increased the 628 FSS customer base from 28,000 to more this, the Joint Base Partnership council continues to meet quarterly. At than 78,000. There are now two golf courses, two bowling centers and two these meetings, all the major commands are present to discuss various child care centers in addition to the dozens of classes and workshops held issues that arise and present those issues along with recommendations for every month. Combining services on the two installations resulted in an resolving them to the Joint Base commander. As these issues are resolved, increase in squadron personnel from 420 to 700 employees. Another unit that has undergone huge changes due to Joint Basing is the they continue to improve the statistical success of the COLS, bringing JB 628th Security Forces Squadron. Joint Basing not only brought changes to CHS up to the standards set by OSD." A far-reaching impact that has arisen from the joint base process has the squadron's mission, it also changed the 628 SFS Air Force mission been the development of a JB CHS - Weapons Station Master Plan that itself. As the 437th Security Forces Squadron, the unit provided physical will provide a tool to guide the installation commanders and other decision security, law enforcement and force protection for roughly 28,000 people makers in the long-range development of the installation. According to on the Air Base. After FOC, and now designated as the 628 SFS, that See JB CHS Birthday, Page 4 Bill Werrell, 628th Civil Engineer Squadron planner, the districting plan
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Reporting an Attack: Use the S-A-L-U-T-E report as a quick and effective way to communicate ground enemy attack information up the chain of command. (S) Size-The number of persons and vehicles seen or the size of an object
(A) Activity-Description of enemy activity (L) Location-Where the enemy was sighted (U) Unit-Distinctive signs, symbols or identification (T) Time-Time the activity is observed (E) Equipment-Equipment and vehicles associated with the activity
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BLACK 01/29/08