MIDDLE GEORGIA CHAPTER (ROBINS AFB, GEORGIA)
Robins is home to a number of major units and is anchored by the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC), one of only three in the Air Force. This diverse military complex is also host to Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command, the E-8 Joint STARS aircraft of the 116th Air Control Wing (ACW), the KC-135 Stratotankers of the 19th Air Refueling Group, and the 5th Combat Communications Group. The 116 ACW boast a one-of-kind distinction: it recently became the Air Force's first and only "blended wing" when the 116th Bomb Wing (Georgia Air national Guard) transferred its B-1 Lancers and combined with the former 93rd Air Control Wing to fly the E-8 Joint STARS aircraft. With a work force of over 13, 000, the WR-ALC provides worldwide logistics support for the C-5, C-141, C-130, C-17, F-15, and Special Operations aircraft as well as helicopters, missiles, remotely piloted vehicles, most avionics and airborne electronic warfare equipment, vehicles, and support equipment. Overall, Robins AFB is the largest industrial complex in Georgia, employing a work force of over 25,000 civilian, contractor, and military members. Our Chapter has approximately 108 National LOA members of which roughly one-third are civilians and retired military folks and approximately two-thirds are active duty, guard and reserve officers. While many of our most active members are Career Broadening Officers, we also have one foreign liaison officer from Japan. Now that you have a little information about our chapter let me explain how we are working to meet the goals outlined in the National Chapter Expectations Letter. Our chapter has an internal goal of at least one event per month using these as a forum to "Educate" our members through a combination of business meetings, guest speakers and visits to both on-and off- base of logistic interest. Guest speakers included Brig Gen Scott (WR-ALC/CV), Brig Gen Morrill (AF/ILP), and Brig Gen Reno (AMC/LG) to name just a few. Tours included C-130 depot maintenance and the Boeing facility in near-by Macon, again naming just a few examples. We typically have more volunteers who want to go to the National Conference than funding allows and have had good participation. Though we have made considerable progress, we need to do more on "uniting the diverse population to bolster our membership." We updated our Robins LOA e-mail listing, but encountered problems connecting with some units collocated units in different commands. To get around this, we resorted to traditional methods like picking up the phone and calling or faxing to unit POCs to get the word out to those particular units. In addition, we have an aggressive officer leading our "recruitment committee." We also use the base paper to get the word out about upcoming events and plan on getting expanded base paper articles in the future. Additionally, we used the Chapter News section of the National website to inform others who aren't active locally of what's going on and thank those who have given extra time to activities, such as fund raising at the Robins Air Show/Open House. We submitted ER chapter updates the last three quarters, including the new current leadership. We recently designed and procured a chapter coin to enhance camaraderie and are using funds raised during the base air show as "seed money" for other similar initiatives. This multitude of efforts increased our active members and will increase National LOA membership. We need to strive more on "enhancing the readiness and effectiveness" of the organization. However, we have an ER article submission in work and have made progress with raising money for our chapter account that could lead to making a scholarship contribution to LOA National. In short, the Middle Georgia Chapter due to its location at Robins AFB, offers a busy, dynamic and varied Air Force logistics environment that has allowed our LOA Chapter to succeed. We made progress in getting National LOA Expectations accomplished. However, we are not satisfied with where we are and continue to strive for further improvements. None of this could be done if not for the fact we are blessed with having great senior leadership, a super chapter advisor, and some hard-charging officers.