Joint Base Charleston
Patriot Vol. 2, No. 49
Team Charleston – One Family, One Mission, One Fight!
Friday, December 16, 2011
2011: A quick look back By Eric Sesit Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs This is the final edition of the Patriot for 2011 and it has been quite a year. To prepare this article, the staff at the 628th Air Base Wing Public Affairs office went back and looked at every story published since January and came up with a top 10 list of what we feel were the most important stories of the year. Now, for the purpose of this article, the word 'important' can have many different meanings as you will discover when you read the list. Many of you will probably have your own top 10 events of the past year, and this article is in no way intended to trivialize all the great accomplishments that have occurred during the past 12 months. We just wanted to recap what we thought were the highlights of an extraordinary year. So, without further adieu.... #10. Charlie the Alligator moves home: Okay, the story wasn't about Airmen or Sailors, but nothing says Weapons Station to more people than Charlie, the twelve foot, 600pound alligator who moved back into his pond in April after a remodeling job cleared away more than 60 years of accumulated silt and vegetation. Charlie has been a fixture at the Weapons Station since the 1960s and the Navy, now along with the Air Force, will continue to provide him a home well into the future. #9. Housing demolition begins on Joint Base Charleston Air Base: Not only did Forest City Military Communities take U.S. Air Force Photo / Tech. Sgt. Chrissy Best over as the privatized managers of JB Charleston - Air Base's Nearly 80,000 people came out to Charleston Air Expo 2011 at Joint Base Charleston April 9. Performances included the U.S. Air housing, they began demolition of the 468 existing housing Force Thunderbirds, the Black Daggers U.S. Army Special Operations Command parachute demonstration team, the units to make room for 335 new homes. The new units are Commemorative Air Force's Tora! Tora! Tora! and other aerial acts as well as dozens of static displays. scheduled to become available in the fall of 2012. #8. Brig places service dogs: The Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston has teamed up with the Rodeo team's preparations for the Air Force-wide competition. All the hard work paid off the Carolina Canines for Service organization and has placed several dogs with wounded war- as the Rodeo team departed for JB Lewis-McChord on a Black Letter aircraft, a designation riors during the past year. The prisoners train service dogs that are then placed with wounded only given to aircraft that have zero discrepancies. #4. The 628 ABW and 437th Airlift Wing change commanders: It's a ritual as old as the warriors. The prisoners learn new skills, the dogs are saved from shelters and our wounded warriors get a partner to help them continue with their lives. A win, win, win for all involved. armed services themselves ... the change of command ceremony in which the authority and #7. General Raymond Johns visits Joint Base Charleston: It was a whirl-wind visit lasting responsibility of command is passed on from one leader to another in front of their troops, sigonly two days, but nothing turns on the sweat pumps like a four-star visit. In typical fashion, nifying an unbroken chain in leadership. Col. Richard McComb assumed command of the 628 Team Charleston rolled out the red carpet for the general who visited several commands and ABW and Col. Erik Hansen took over as commander of the 437 AW. New leadership brings in new ideas and new methods to accomplish the mission and both colonels are leading from coined a number of Airmen. #6. U.S. Navy ships visit Charleston: The hardest thing about being a Sailor in Charleston the front. #3. Joint Base Charleston hosts Gov. Nikki Haley: In another whirlwind visit, South is there are no great big gray things floating in the water, so when a ship visits, it's a pretty big deal. USS Vicksburg, USS Gunston Hall and USS Farragut visited Charleston this year, Carolina governor Nikki Haley came to JB Charleston to ceremoniously sign S.404, the enabling the Navy side of the base to familiarize their Overseas Citizens Absentee Voters Act which makes it easier for South Carolinians abroad to Air Force brethren on what it means to go down to the participate in federal, state and local elections. Haley commented that, "The people in South Carolina feel a strong connection to the military because it's our families that we see deployed sea in ships. #5. The Air Mobility Command Rodeo: over and over again. It's our men and women that we watch sacrifice for our rights and liberPreparations for the AMC Rodeo held at Joint Base ties every day." #2. The Air Show: When almost 80,000 of your closest friends and families drop in for an Lewis - McChord, Wash., dominated much of the news for the first half of the year as we documented air show, it can make for a pretty big traffic jam. Not only did the Air show go off without a hitch with headliner acts like the U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds and Tora, Tora, Tora thrilling the crowd, but excellent pre-planning ensured traffic on and off the base during the event never stopped moving. The show was so good that the Thunderbirds recently named the JB Charleston Air Show as their best air show of the year. #1. The Operational Readiness Inspection: Our number one story Giving should come as no surprise. The ORI loomed over JB Charleston throughout the year. Operational Readiness Exercises helped tune back Team Charleston for the final inspection which wrapped up last See page 7 week. So many people were involved in the inspection and the preparations were so extensive, that it is nearly impossible to recognize everyone's contributions, but that is just what the base leadership did at the ENDEX party held Dec. 13. So there you have it, some of the highlights of 2011. Holiday The 628 ABW Public Affairs office publishes The Patriot 49 times hours a year and our goal has been and will continue to be to inform you as well as keep you "in the know" about base events. We have tried to See page 6 be as inclusive as possible, representing and reporting on all the branches of service that make JB Charleston their home. Most times, U.S. Air Force photo/James M. Bowman we do a pretty good job, but there is always room for improvement. Charlie the alligator stands his ground as employees from Gator Getters We want to tell your stories. Let us hear from you. If you know of Consultants attempt to move him from his home Nov. 17, 2010, at Joint Base Life after Charleston-Weapons Station S.C. Charlie was temporarily moved for pond clean- an event, or know of an Airman or Sailor with a special story to ing, overflow structure improvements and increased pond depth of eight feet. Two share, we want to know about it. Who knows, perhaps your story will cancer dens were also built in the pond so Charlie and the other alligators can hibernate. be on next year's top ten list!
INSIDE ALS
FSS
SURVIVOR See page 9
Gate closures to affect Air Base and Weapons Station Courtesy of Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs
Charleston, SC Friday, December 16 Partly Cloudy (10% precip)
High 76º Low 55º
Saturday, December 17 A Few Showers (30% precip)
High 67º Low 40º
Sunday, December 18 Sunny (0% precip)
High 66º Low 39º
Rivers Ave. gate and Vehicle Inspection Station will not be affected. For more information, contact Senior Master Sgt. Hart at the 628th Security Forces
Squadron at 963-3634.
For Joint Base Charleston-Weapons Station Personnel from the 628th Civil Engineer and 628 CES and SFS personnel will also per628th Security Forces form vehicle barrier maintenance and squadrons will perform testing on Gate 4 at the intersection of vehicle barrier mainteRemount Rd. and Perimeter Rd. on JB nance and testing at Joint Charleston - Weapons Station Dec. 17 Base Charleston - Air Base from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gate 4 will be Dec. 17 from 7 a.m. to 4 closed while the testing is underway. p.m. Gate 3 at the intersection of Remount As a result, the Rd. and Virginia Ave will be open durDorchester Road gate will ing this period. Both in- and out-bound be closed. The commissary commercial and privately owned vehigate will be open for all cle traffic may use this gate; however, non-commercial traffic commercial deliveries are requested to during this time. The be kept to a minimum due to traffic Hunley Park housing area limitations at Gate 3. Security officers gate will be open for sinand schedulers should inform all comgle-lane use only in both mercial delivery drivers that service directions. Please use cauyour units. tion when entering and We regret any inconvenience this exiting the housing area may cause. U.S. Air Force Photo/Airman 1st Class Lauren Main and obey security forces' Tech. Sgt. Brian Saylors checks an identification card at Charleston Air For more information, contact Mr. directions and signage. The Force Base July 7, 2010. Scheer at the 628 SFS at 764-7897.
Note: The Patriot will be on hiatus for the remainder of the year. The next issue will be January 6, 2012.
CYAN-AOOO
MAGENTA-OAOO
YELLOW-OOAO
BLACK 01/29/08