Black Hills Bandit Base CO. Action Line, Rapid City, SD
 

For all the Airforce folks who miss reading good Action Line letters in the Base Newspaper here is a good one. I like this Base Commanders attitude :ae:
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Commander?s Action Line

Uniform Presentation

Question: Colonel Smith, I was in the shoppette last week at about 4 p.m. and was standing behind a senior airman from 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron with an aircraft maintenance unit patch.

His uniform was filthy, his ball cap looked like he?d drove over it, he smelled and was generally unpresentable. Don?t we enforce standards on this base? He wasn?t a very good representative of our Air Force.

Colonel Smith: Let me get this straight?you saw an Airman, maintainer, who was filthy dirty, stunk and had an oily hat?

Great! I wish you gave me his name so I could push away from this computer right now, drive out to the flightline and give him my wing commander?s coin.

Why?

I suspect that Airman was probably on his tenth hour of work, had no lunch break, likely missed a single smoke break, was freezing to death, was pushed by the flightline ?super? to fix and launch jets, was yelled at for one thing or another ? all in an effort to keep this wing?s mission moving ? flying, fighting and fixing jets to fight again.

I wouldn?t have it any other way. I?ll take that hit.

Sleepless Nights

Question: Colonel Smith, why do we have to run those B-1 engines at all hours of the night? Don?t we have established ?quiet hours?? It?s really annoying to have such loud noise when most people are trying to sleep.

Can you do something about that?

Colonel Smith: I too treasure what little sleep I get every night and understand your concern about quiet hours. However, I also have a commitment to ensuring our jets are operating at their peak performance, and maintenance checks are an integral part of that.

As long as our men and women in uniform (and our government civilians) are responsible for the freedom of this country, we?ll continue to do whatever is necessary to ensure our jets and aircrews are ready when called upon.

Our flightline superintendent has my full and complete authority to do whatever is necessary to keep our line running combat smooth.

No Smoking

Question: Colonel Smith, I?m currently staying in Ellsworth?s Temporary Lodging Facility in a non-smoking room. When I leave the building, there are ash trays right outside the front door with people smoking all the time.

Couldn?t the ash cans be moved away from the entrance so we non-smokers don?t have to smell the nicotine every time we leave the building?

Colonel Smith: Yes, we can and we will. The established smoking area at the TLF is at the rear of the building. We added another can up front to help alleviate the unsightly mess and potential fire hazard caused by smokers who approached the building and threw their lit butts on the ground.

We?ve also added signs directing smokers to the rear of the facility. Thanks for the call.

Pricey Gas

Question: Colonel Smith, why is the Army and Air Force Exchange Service on-base gas price so much higher than off-base? And why do we have to pay tax on gasoline on base when everything else is tax free?

Colonel Smith: It?s AAFES policy to set their gas prices once a week, and they do so by surveying the immediate area?s local gas stations and then setting the price below the lowest found. The problem you cite has to do with the volatile gas prices our country has been facing recently.

Local gas stations can set their prices many times a day, so it?s possible that for a short period our prices may be higher due to our weekly check. But you must agree that over the course of the year, AAFES prices are lower than local prices. And we add tax to our gas as directed by Congress to ensure we all chip in to pay for highway funding.

Movie Phone

Question: Colonel Smith, It seems the base movie theater?s phone line hasn?t been up and running for some time. I don?t live on base and don?t want to drive to base to find out what?s playing. I?m frustrated. Can you do something about it?

Colonel Smith: Done! We just needed to know there was a problem. Please call

385-1685 for the latest movie listings.

Perspective :1:

You are the Air Force,By Colonel Smith

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. ? A couple of years ago, my family and I were having dinner in a restaurant. I had just met them there following work and had not changed from my uniform. An elderly gentleman kept looking over and finally came over to me.

He simply said, ?I just want to thank you for your service to our country.?

It clearly meant a lot to him, and to me as well. I shook his hand and asked him rather awkwardly if he?d ever served in the military.

?Why yes, but some time ago during World War II,? he said. ?We didn?t have all the demands on us that you do today.?

I asked him to tell us a little about his time in the service. He went on to explain about the flag raising on Iwo Jima and the famous Rosenthal photo. His company guarded the flag that first night after it was raised.

And he was thanking me for my service!

This event made me think of our current generation and its service to this country. In some very distinct ways, we face very similar global responsibilities and demands.

As I see our young officers and enlisted troops mature and grow professionally in rank and responsibility, I often think of that amazing encounter.

To that elderly gentleman who guarded the flag over Iwo Jima, I came to represent, rightly or wrongly, at that instant in time, our generation of service to the same flag he defended.

We each must always bear that responsibility, burden and honor.

To everyone we meet on or off base, in uniform or out, we embody an entire generation in service to our

country.

Every individual Airman represents the heritage of this great base, the lineage of the magnificent wings that comprise this center, and in a very real sense, we each, individually, represent the entire United States Air Force.

This Air Force has been in action continuously since 1991, and has become the single most potent fighting force in the history of the world. But we follow a great tradition of service, and must respect and honor those who came before us ? the veterans of the world wars, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf I and II and all those who serve now. As Veteran?s Day approaches, I ask you to consider this and rededicate yourselves to the tasks ahead.

Thank your families and friends for their support and their sacrifices. But most importantly, serve to make those who came before us, like that elderly gentleman in the restaurant, proud of the contributions of this generation to the flag and the country.

And thank you for your service!

Jerry,

That first story about the dirty airman brought back some memories. Whenever there was a holiday, I used to do extra duty so that the married guys could spend time with their families. Figured it was the least I could do since I was single and my family was thousands of miles away. At Thanksgiving, our chow hall would prepare a truly incredible meal; roast turkey with ALL the trimmings. A GI's family would be allowed to eat at the chow hall for an extremely reasonable price, so it was packed with wives and kids.

One turkey day, I was given a half-hour break from working on a C-141. I had spent the entire morning doing all the grung work; lubing the landing gear and the horizontal stabilizer, refilling engine oil, feuling, etc, etc., and I was just like that airman, dirty, smelly, and tired. I was in line at the chow hall in front of some CMSgt's family and his wife started saying, out loud & long, that I shouldn't be allowed in the chow hall on Thanksgiving Day in that kind of condition, and that he, the CMS, should order me to leave.

The CMS asked me where I was from; I told him and that I was working so others could be at home. He turned to his wife and said to her that I was 3,000 miles from home and family, volunteering to work, and to shut up otherwise he'd shove a turkey leg in her mouth! She turned all red and did what she was told, and he shook my hand.

Doc, that was a great tale from the past ,I have seen it many times in the past too.On this time of the year I hope all the E1s thru E4 have a great Turkey day at the Chow Hall or better yet at their Supervisors house if they are too far from home. Hope all the deployed troops get something better then Turkey MRE's and crackers. And they don't get any of Max Klingers Thanksgiving Turkey Suprise (mash eps) :D