Hanscom AFB -- Another year has come and gone and as 2006 is entered into the history books, we can all be proud of our accomplishments in the past year and look forward to new opportunities in 2007. As we reflect on our past accomplishments, there is one common ingredient -- our great people -- and that's why I am very optimistic about 2007.

Hanscom people have a long tradition of working together to achieve excellence on a daily basis, so I know 2007 will be another banner year.

One of the major opportunities for Hanscom people in 2007 is the upcoming Operational Readiness Inspection, which is scheduled to take place June 9 to 19. The ORI is an opportunity for the Air Force Materiel Command Inspector General team to tell us what we already know -- Hanscom is ready for anything because we have great people who can work together to overcome any challenge. In fact, an advance team from the Air Force Materiel Command Inspector General team will visit Hanscom Tuesday through Thursday to conduct tasks and collect information in preparation for the ORI.

While I have no doubt that we will prove once again that Hanscom is the "best of the best" in AFMC during the ORI, we do need to practice, to hone our skills so we do as well as we possibly can. We must begin now to prepare ourselves as each unit and each individual will, in some way, play an important role in ensuring our success.

Most of us have, at one time or another, been through these types of inspections and know that preparation is very important, so we should all start reviewing our procedures and processes, getting familiar with the "Airman's Manual," AFMAN 10-100, and giving our best effort when participating in Base Readiness Exercises. As June approaches, the frequency of Base Readiness Exercises will increase, and although not everyone will be directly involved in these events, all base personnel may be indirectly impacted in some way and your patience and cooperation will be needed.

2007 will be filled with many opportunities and challenges, but it's hard to imagine an event that will involve more Hanscom personnel than the ORI -- what a great opportunity for us all to shine. Thanks in advance for your efforts and best of luck on all your endeavors in 2007.