Best of neighbors share priorities Published Jan. 12, 2007 By Col Mike Callan 71st Flying Training Wing Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- Team Vance-we are very lucky to have our local community "on our side"! We had the honor of hosting the Enid-Vance Air Force Base Community Relations Council this week at the Vance Club, and what a great event it turned out to be! A forum that's been underway for four years where respected local leaders from Enid, Okla. join the Vance AFB leadership at a luncheon to "share notes" on developments that are happening right now and in the immediate future. This week's meeting covered a variety of topics. On our side, we brought the local leadership up-to-speed on our "hot items" (namely our T-6 transition plan, our military housing and related base construction plans, and our MILCON priorities)! Under the leadership of Jon Blankenship and Mike Cooper, we were briefed on their top items (Quality or life improvements involving new education developments, DSL and IT improvements to come, various financial assistance programs available to Team Vance military members and their spouses, and other airspace/noise reduction issues), and several things were obvious! One, the Enid leadership is 100 percent behind our efforts to continue producing the world's best pilots. Two, they are "walking the walk" in offering a myriad of programs to Team Vance members (many with financial support) that target educational, housing and base construction improvements that we need! Finally, our democracy remains strong because of grass-root support that we are fortunate to have in Enid! We are truly blessed to have their total support!! Please continue to be safe in ALL that you do-you're ALL doing a great job managing to safely execute our mission while keeping yourself, your coworkers and your families safe-DON'T LET DOWN YOUR GUARD! As we are flying this Sunday, keep hydrated, stay focused and be safe!