Team Vance -- It's been an honor being your commander! Published Nov. 28, 2006 By Col Mike Callan 71st Flying Training Wing Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- As I write this final article as your wing commander, I'd like to try to articulate what an honor it has been for me to have served as your commander. Since Aug 2003, all of you have made my vision of "building a professional and physically fit officer, enlisted and civilian work force dedicated to preparing tomorrow's air warriors to fly and fight through disciplined risk assessment and enforced regulatory procedures" come true before my eyes! You've revamped our First Term Airman Center program, dissolved the "First 6" and transformed it into our award-winning "Focus 5/6" program, you've carried yourself as a professional Team Vance member in Financial Working Groups, Community Action Information Board activities, and volunteered for honor guard duty and the many Enid, America activities to help local schools and community activities where "Service before Self" is now a reality. Since January 2004, you have embraced the new "Fit to Fight" physical training program with determination and taken full advantage of our 5-star fitness center and fitness trainers to produce a more "physically fit" Team Vance warrior. You've all made Operational Risk Management a part of your daily lives, and have undertaken your involvement in both on and off-duty activities ONLY after a careful review of the factors involved and have modified/cancelled those activities in order to guarantee your safety. You have taken the necessary steps to "do things by the book" in so many areas that have proven over time to be the most efficient and safe way to do business. In the rare event where the "book isn't clear," you've made the necessary inputs to get the appropriate guidance in the book, and at ALL times, you've used what my dad calls "good common sense" to do the right thing! Since August 2003, all of you have made my Strategic Intent a reality. You've operated by our U.S. Air Forces's core values -- you bring Integrity to your profession, you have fully embraced the expeditionary air warrior atmosphere that is a fact of life in today's USAF/U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. As an individual and as a supervisor/commander, you have "fully" prepared yourself/your "wingmen" for deployments into harm's way! You've raised the bar on not just providing the mobility fundamentals, but implemented a Ready Warrior program that gives the absolute latest "hands-on" training to every Team Vance member prior to their deployment (and our people have done tremendous in their service to our nation). You've collectively embraced the "team" approach to Vance AFB success and your maturity to understand that your efforts are but one of many that are necessary for wing success has been personally rewarding to watch. You've been good stewards of the American taxpayers' money and have raised issues to 19th Air Force/Air Education and Training Command/USAF decision makers that resulting in some of your programs getting additional funding support. Our execution of our $122 million annual budget garnered my amazement at the end-of-year budget when $4.2 million fell from the sky and we cleared more than six-pages of unfunded items -- WOW!! We continue to fly more than 90,000 flying hours/64,000 sorties annually, graduating hundreds of student pilots to operational and training cockpits SAFELY! We're about to welcome the new T-6A Texan to our fleet, and I have no doubt that Vance AFB's tradition of breathing ORM will make this another success story for the Team. You've improved our facilities, built new ones, improved the base's ability to protect itself and have eagerly drafted future plans for Vance AFB to even better accomplish our mission. In the end, you've done everything possible to make the lives of all Team Vance members better and fully demonstrated why Vance AFB is truly a special place to serve our USAF, Department of Defense and our nation! I have been truly blessed to join you in making Vance AFB the "crown jewel" of AETC. I'm always amazed at the way ALL of you find safe ways to make the mission happen. On behalf of my wife, Ann, our daughters Amber and Brooke, we wish all of you the very best in the future. We will always consider ourselves members of Team Vance, and look with keen interest as future developments at Vance AFB unfold. Be safe, fly safe and may God continue to bless you and Vance AFB. It's been an honor being your commander!