Altus civic leaders tour McChord Field

  • Published
  • By Airman Leah Young
  • 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  A group of 29 civic leaders visited McChord Field Sept. 30 to see the end result of the Airmen that have trained at Altus Air Force Base, and to learn about McChord Field's mission.

Civic leader/ employer tours are organized in order to spread mission awareness, foster liaisons between civilian and military leadership, and to highlight the importance of the roles the community and families play in the lives of Airmen.

Col. Jon "Ty" Thomas, 97th Air Mobility Wing Commander, Altus AFB, Okla., escorted the group aboard a C-17A Globemaster III.

"A visit to McChord Field is always a pleasure," said Colonel Thomas.

The group was met on the ground by Col. Kevin Kilb, 62nd Airlift Wing Commander. The tour kicked off with an introduction and mission briefing from Colonel Kilb.

He highlighted this civic leader tour as the last at McChord AFB. Beginning Oct. 1, 2010, the base will officially be part of Joint Base Lewis-McChord and will be referred to as McChord Field.

Colonel Kilb also described the duties and responsibilities of loadmasters dispersed throughout the flying squadrons at McChord Field. Altus AFB is one of the training locations for loadmasters.

"Your support is tremendously appreciated," said Colonel Kilb. "We have some of the finest Airmen in the United States Air Force here at McChord thanks to you."

Dr. Joe Leverett, honorary 97th Air Mobility Wing Commander and chairman of the Altus military affairs committee, said he enjoyed the informative briefing.

"I was pleased to hear that the Airmen we train are now doing great things for the Air Force," said Dr. Leverett.

Following Colonel Kilb's brief, Lt. Col. Stephen Ritter, 8th Airlift Squadron Commander, gave a mission brief and a short tour around the 8th AS. One of the topics discussed was the squadron's performance on their most recent deployment.

In August of 2010, the 816th Expeditionary AS participated in Operation EVEREST. They dropped a record-breaking 837 bundles on 22 drop zones with a combined weight of more than 1.1 million pounds of cargo.

"I'm proud of my Airmen, not just because of their excellent performance, but their attitude," said Colonel Ritter. "They were consistently positive, and maintained a 'leave it better than we found it' work ethic."

During the 8th AS tour, Colonel Ritter took the group to different rooms used for planning, scheduling and coordinating flights. The squadron tour ended in the Heritage Room, where refreshments were served and stories were shared between friends.

"I am just overwhelmed by the great things McChord Field is doing," said Mrs. Barbara Burge, former honorary 97th Operations Group Commander and Cable One manager.

After the group departed the 8th AS, they took a short trip to McChord Field's front gate, discussing layout ideas and brainstorming plans to take back and apply to Altus AFB.

The group wrapped up the tour by stopping for lunch at the Globemaster Grill, located at the McChord Field Collocated Club. They enjoyed hamburgers and french fries, while discussing their favorite parts of the tour and ideas to take back home.

"This was a fantastic opportunity for us to take back new ideas and implement them at Altus," said Mrs. Molly Reid, honorary 97th Medical Support Squadron Commander and owner of Molly's Gourmet Goodies. "For example, I think we could take good ideas from McChord's in-processing, deployed spouses and recycling programs."

While boarding the C-17A Globemaster III to head home, the visitors were expressing their gratitude for being able to learn more about McChord Field. Many said they plan to return, and are looking forward to sharing new ideas with their co workers at Altus AFB.