Bird's Eye View: Our time to shine

  • Published
  • By Col. H. Brent Baker Sr.
  • 95th Air Base Wing commander
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  After more than two years of preparing and enhancing our wartime deployment skills and emergency management responses, it's time to show the world what I've known all along -- Team Edwards is ready! 

The Air Force Materiel Command Inspector General's team will arrive here Thursday to evaluate our processes and test our deployment machine. We've all worked hard to make sure Team Edwards is prepared to respond to crises and deployments in support of contingency operations. 

All Team Edwards members -- military, civilians and contractors alike -- provide vital support in many areas prior to, and throughout, crises and deployments. As the inspectors come around, remember, don't fight the inspectors, fight the scenario. Be sure to keep an 'eagle eye' out for suspicious activities and personnel. If it doesn't look right, report it. 

The one constant here is "you." Again, we've all worked hard for this, and it's our time to shine.

Town Hall Meeting Wednesday; New housing opening

On Wednesday at 6 p.m., I will host a Town Hall Meeting in the base theater to discuss several housing initiatives in the works both now and in the near future. 

As base residents can attest, there is a lot of construction currently happening in and around the different base housing areas. 

We're almost done with the demolition of Tamarisk Plains houses and recently changed the traffic pattern in and around Club Muroc and the Edwards Conference Center. This is to allow for construction vehicles free movement, as we get ready to start construction of new Tamarisk Plains houses. 

On the flip side, after almost a year, Mesquite Meadows Junior Enlisted housing construction is nearly complete and in some cases, people are already moving into their new homes there. I encourage all base housing residents to come to the Town Hall Meeting to hear first hand what is upcoming for the housing areas.

AFFTC Annual Awards banquet tonight

Tonight the Air Force Flight Test Center annual awards winners will be announced in a banquet at Hangar 1820. 

The AFFTC enlisted annual award winners will go on to compete in the Air Force Materiel Command Enlisted Annual Awards program. 

Those winners will be announced in a ceremony at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and will represent AFMC in the United States Air Force Twelve Outstanding Airmen of the Year and First Sergeant of the Year competitions later in the year. I look forward to seeing many of you tonight. Congratulations and good luck to all our outstanding nominees!