Amidst change, commander calls for steady mission focus

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  • By 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Ongoing and upcoming changes at the Electronic Systems Center and on Hanscom AFB were highlighted at the ESC Commander's Call Feb. 3.

Before speaking about changes at the Center, Lt. Gen. CR Davis, ESC commander, spoke about various program and personnel successes.

"People have a lot of confidence in the work you're doing," he told the attendees.

Davis then talked about the rounds of cuts the Center is facing due to Air Force restructuring, and how the numbers were looked at from 2008 to now, which is why Hanscom's final number is showing as a plus one.

He also spoke about the Advisory and Assistance Service (A&AS) reductions, saying that people may have seen numbers in the 70-percent range for cuts, but it appears it may not be that drastic.

"Mr. Lombardi, [ESC executive director], is actively engaged with AQ to see how we're accounting for this," Davis said.

He encouraged all employees to look at the information the Air Force put out on Feb. 3 about force structure and to read the new Department of Defense strategy document: Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense - available here: http://www.defense.gov/news/Defense_Strategic_Guidance.pdf.

Davis provided updates on the ESC response to the mission letter sent by David Van Buren, the Air Force service acquisition executive, and Air Force Materiel Command Commander Gen. Don Hoffman last fall. He also provided an update on the teams working on the Life Cycle Management Center construct, saying that many personnel are helping to figure out the transition.

Overall, he once again encouraged people to stay focused on the mission, saying that personnel need to be responsible for what they deliver.

"We need to remind the Air Force what we can do for the Air Force," he said. "Success breeds success."

The Call began by thanking the honorary commanders who had served or been serving ESC. Officials also welcomed new honorary commanders for ESC and the 66th Air Base Group.

Davis said having the honorary commanders is an important way for the installation to keep ties with the community.

"I appreciate the honorary commanders helping us understand what the community issues are," Davis said."Hopefully we can relate some of the things we are going through."

The departing honorees were: Michael Graham, outgoing honorary commander for ESC, Jonathan Elias, outgoing 66th Air Base Group honorary commander, Tracy West, former 350th Electronic Systems Wing honorary commander, Bill Hass, former 554th ELSW honorary commander, Christopher Anderson, former 653rd ELSW honorary commander, and Dr. Robert Collings, former 551st ELSW honorary commander.

The incoming honorary commanders are Charlie Benway for ESC and Pamela Brown for the 66 ABG, both local business and civic leaders.

After the presentations, Col. Stacy Yike, 66 ABG commander, spoke about current changes regarding services on the base, along with upcoming ones.

"We are trying to tailor the reductions to ensure we keep those resources most critical to the entire Hanscom community," she said.

Some of the current changes include reduced custodial services; converting the library to a resource center more focused on professional military education, Air Force reading lists and language learning than on book or periodical lending; and the elimination of fitness assessment cells.

Yike also said that due to manning reductions that affect the bowling center, base leaders are looking to see if it can be kept as a viable resource.

For upcoming changes, since there will be no summer hires, the pool will have reduced hours and be closed on Sundays. Also there will be no more youth leagues. Use of base parks, including for retirement ceremonies, and how to make Summer Bash more sustainable are other issues currently being considered.

Yike encouraged feedback about what services people are most interested in preserving and offered a variety of mechanisms for providing it: http://www.hanscomservices.com/index.asp (FEEDBACK button at bottom of the page); http://www.facebook.com/66abgcommander; Hanscom.straighttalk@hanscom.af.mil.