Leaders visit Travis for AMC orientation

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Lindsey Hahn
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) --  A group of Air Mobility Command mission support group commanders and an AMC general visited Travis recently as a part of AMC’s Excellent Installation Orientation. 

The team toured five AMC bases, including Dover Air Force Base, Del.;  Andrews AFB,  Md.; Charleston AFB, S.C.;  McConnell AFB, Kan.; and Travis to see AMC’s benchmark programs and processes, innovative ideas and model facilities outside their home base. 

“The idea is to take those initiatives demonstrated at each base and apply them to all of our AMC bases,” said Brig. Gen. Delwyn R. Eulberg, director of Installations and Mission Support for Headquarters AMC. "In essence, we are improving all AMC bases. It does no good to have one great AMC base; we have to do it at all 12."

The program provides the MSG commanders time to discuss challenges they are facing at their bases, the general continued. 

“Each base, because each one is different, faces its own challenges,” said Col. Tracy Hardwick, 60th MSG commander at  Travis. “Bottom line is Airmen at each base continue to meet whatever challenges they have with innovative solutions and hard work.” 

At Travis, the group received briefings on programs including the Family Support Center’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective Associates class and 60th Contracting Squadron’s Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act program, which provides jobs to physically and mentally handicapped people. 

“We received a lot of positive feedback from our Seven Habits class,” said Colonel Hardwick. “The one-day class has been added to the end of our (First Term Airmen Center) program and is based off of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Leaders class. Also, the FSC is following up on this program by measuring with these young Airmen’s supervisors to see if they were able to apply these steps to their lives physically, mentally and spiritually.” 

The Excellent Installation Orientation, which began three years ago, has already shown success. 

“One program I observed at an AMC base two years ago was the family deployment line, which gives families of deployed members the chance to experience what their family members are going through,” said General Eulberg. “A year and a half later I saw the program featured on CNN at an Army base. These good ideas don’t only impact AMC, but they impact bases DOD-wide.” 

Prior to the first orientation, there was no command program in place that provided mission support commanders the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge and exposure to AMC’s benchmark programs. 

While Travis has its benchmarked programs throughout the base, it never hurts to get some new ideas. 

“We saw a lot of great programs,” said Colonel Hardwick. “One at Andrews AFB was their (Family Liaison Officer) program, which is a program that assigns a FLO to the family of a deceased servicemember to help them during that difficult time. Andrews has taken it one step further and has begun assigning FLOs to injured members who are in their medical center to help families deal with any issues while their family member is in the hospital. With all of the injured members from operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom who are in our hospital, that program could work well here.” 

Travis was the last stop for this five-day tour and it was considered a success. 

“Our men and women are doing a great job figuring out better, smarter ways to do things,” said General Eulberg. “I continue to be impressed by the talent and dedication of those who serve today. Our operations tempo is high, but the commitment and dedication of our people is just as high. We will continue to make AMC as good as it can be.”