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AFRC looks outside the fence to manage bases

  • Published
  • By Chandra Lloyd
  • Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  A new Air Force Reserve Command program has mission support group commanders thinking more like city and county managers.

The MSG as City Managers Initiative began at a conference in June where more than 60 MSG commanders and deputy commanders from across the United States gathered to learn how they can better manage their base. AFRC established the institutional program to introduce, train and maintain proficiency in the business of MSG and understand what it means to be a city manager in relationship with the local community.

"The goal of this initiative is to change the way MSG thinks," said Col. Michael McCully, AFRC's Installations and Mission Support director. "We are a part of the local community. We just cannot worry about inside the fence. We must know what's going on outside the fence as well."

Col. William Stephens, 315th MSG commander at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., sees both sides of the fence everyday. He thinks the city manager way of doing business is long overdue.

"In earlier years, we operated as needed. In other words, if circumstances created a need to think and work with our local counterparts, then we did," Stephens said. "Mutual contact was incidental not intentional. Today, working relationships are more deliberate."

He said the handling of operations in the past has evolved over time, and the career field is analyzing lessons learned for a more positive growing community-military relationship.

"As members of local communities, we interact on a regular basis via different venues with the citizens of the community and their city officials, especially with the city and county manager," Stephens said. "During times of emergencies, we especially lean on and support one another to recover."

According to McCully, MSG commanders at the local level are advisers to their wing commanders on issues occurring on and off base. They deal with issues ranging from encroachment and noise to natural disasters.

Since most Air Force bases are within a city, issues may have a tendency to duplicate or overlap within and outside the fence. Stephens believes sharing information with city and county managers should be routine.

"Familiarity between leaders enhances our abilities to serve our nation and citizens of the local communities we are a part of," he said.

At the 315th Airlift Wing, a program called Honorary Commanders allows for information sharing between civic leaders and the Air Force Reserve Command unit.

Stephens says the program gives civic and military leaders an opportunity to become more familiar with each other and their operations, facilitating the sharing of information and techniques towards serving and leading their communities.

The Honorary Commander Program is one example of how MSG commanders are fostering relationships within their local communities.