Team Vance continues to be very relevant Published Nov. 27, 2006 By Col Mike Callan 71st Flying Training Wing Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- Team Vance -- we continue to be very relevant! As my time as your commander draws to a close, I am reminded of the many issues that make Vance Air Force Base very much a RELEVANT part of our U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense strategy! We are the U.S. Air Force's ONLY Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training base, and as such are entrusted with training "military pilot want-to-be's" and give them the necessary basic piloting skills in a variety of missions (contact, instruments, formation, etc.) to fill both operational and training cockpits for our USAF, U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. We account for approximately one-third of the U.S. Air Force pilot production and approximately one-quarter of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps pilot production! I know that many a U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps student pilot comes through our gate thinking they'd rather NOT be learning how to fly on a U.S. Air Force base, but after several months of altitude chambers, practicing their parachute landing falls, taking to the air in the T-37 and witnessing the tradition of pilot training excellence which we provide, they "totally" change their tune and feel quite "blessed" to have had the chance to learn to fly military aircraft at Vance AFB! I think we ALL know that unless you've experienced our JSUPT program, you don't know how fantastic it is. Team Vance continues to be relevant in "Training Tomorrow's Expeditionary Leaders Today," and your personal commitment to excellence shows every day! I'm proud of all of you! We've had the pleasure of welcoming several deployed Team Vance members back from Operation Iraqi Freedom (SSgt Melissa Chavez, SrA Christopher Miller, MSgt Christopher Blackburn, Maj Homer Nesmith and Col Wade Johnson). They all served our U.S. Air Force and Vance AFB with skill, professionalism and distinction, and we welcome them back to the Team -- we MISSED you! Please continue to drive and fly safe-- it seems at least for the moment that Old Man Winter has loosened his grip on northwest Oklahoma and milder temperatures are on the horizon but we all must stay vigilant to the many perils that exist during these winter months. Continue to use your operational risk management skills to identify potential hazards to your on and off-base activities and do the right and safe thing to minimize or eliminate those hazards -- you may even have to cancel the activity until a later (and safer) date! Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you next week for my last (sad-sad-sad!) Airscoop article!