Bird's Eye View: Edwards takes care of its own

  • Published
  • By Col. Nancy P. Wharton
  • 95th Air Base Wing vice commander
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --   It's been one month since I arrived at Edwards Air Force Base as the 95th Air Base Wing's new vice commander. Right away, I could tell that the men and women of Team Edwards were exceptional people. Not only have many of you welcomed me with open arms, but your advice on how to survive the Antelope Valley summers has been especially useful! 

One of the first things I was privileged to attend was the opening of the Higher Grounds Internet Cafe. So many people from both our military and local communities, came together to build this facility where Airmen can relax while enjoying a hot cup of coffee. It's a great escape and a perfect example of how we take care of each other. It also illustrates how our partners in the civilian community show their support for us at Edwards by providing us the resources to make ideas a reality. 

I was very impressed with how everyone at Edwards, and I do mean everyone, pulled together and made last week's Operational Readiness Inspection retest a complete success. This was truly a team effort and it showed. The IG team was equally impressed with our performance and can-do spirit. Each and every one of you should be proud of your efforts. 

One of my goals while at Edwards is to ensure we are taking care of our people, especially those who are deployed overseas in support of the Global War on Terror. I ask that you not only keep regular contact with your deployed colleagues, but also with their families. As many of you know first hand, long deployments are tough on families, and the support the families receive from us go a long way in helping them through the separation. We have many resources available at Edwards for our military, civilian and family members who are coping with the long separations or additional workload, and I encourage you to take advantage of them. 

In the same vein, taking care of our people applies to the people we see in the office every day. Many of you are working long hours to get the mission done, and it's appreciated. Many of you have heard this before, but as a supervisor, one of the most important ways to take care of your employees is to conduct regular feedbacks and ensure their evaluations are completed on time. Providing timely performance feedback and reports is a basic and essential responsibility of being a supervisor. Performance reports are the yardsticks of our Airmen's and civilian team members' success. They serve as a measure for promotion and important career development. A late performance report submission may have negative impact on the subordinate's chance for advancement. 

In my short time here, I can tell that Team Edwards is a strong family, and as long as we continue to look out for each other, we can only get stronger. It truly is an honor to be at Edwards, and I look forward to working with all of you.