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A year at Robins Col. King discusses labor relations, community support, coming air show

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  • Robins Public Affairs
When Col. Jeff King assumed command of the 78th Air Base Wing in June 2015, among his top priorities at Robins Air Force Base was to continue ensuring a safe working environment for employees, as well as opening lines of communication between management and union partners.

Topics such as those, as well as October’s Thunder Over Georgia Air Show and the 75th anniversary of Robins, ongoing infrastructure needs and public-public and public-private, or P4, partnerships were discussed July 13 during a press conference highlighting his first year here.

As wing commander, King commands a workforce that provides a myriad of support, including medical, logistics, civil engineer, communications and security for the base’s more than 24,000 employees, and mission support to the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex and 37 mission partners.

When it comes to the future of Robins and its engineering workload in supporting various Department of Defense weapon systems – whether it’s software programming, engineering fixes on the depot line or in Air Force Life Cycle Management program offices – King said invigorating youth about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers is not only vital to Robins but our country.

“We want to raise them, educate them, employ them and retain them here in Middle Georgia. That’s why these partnerships are important,” he said. “We are doing great things regarding STEM with our youth at the Museum of Aviation. We are even looking into sponsoring a UAV rodeo and getting youth invigorated about STEM careers.”

The Engineering and Technical Management Directorate at Robins is responsible for work force development for over 1,500 civilian and military degreed scientists and engineers, which includes the recruitment and hiring of about 100 civilians each year. That recruitment includes visits to over 30 Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology engineering-accredited universities across the southeast, as well as national diversity events.

There are currently partnerships with Georgia Tech, Mercer University, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University and the University of Georgia who have engineering degree programs, with more programs being accredited by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Referring to a ‘team of teams,’ King stressed that getting the mission accomplished couldn’t be done without union partnerships and the community’s support.

On labor relations, which have significantly improved over the last several years, there has been an 11 percent decrease and five percent decrease in Step 1 and 2 labor grievances in fiscal 2016 to date over last year, attributed to the union’s focus on pre-decisional involvement among employees, supervisors and union stewards.

“We’ve seen workforce grievances steadily decline as a result of that pre-decisional involvement,” said King. “The union has been pushing that very hard and we’ve got great success.”

While he stated union grievances against the government have steadily increased over the last three years, he didn’t see that as a bad thing. “It just documents the hard work we are doing on both sides to focus on the tough issues,” he said.

He cited the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex’s success in fiscal 2015. The WR-ALC produced a total of 217 aircraft, and was honored with the 2015 Air Force Effectiveness Award in the Depot Category.

“That would not have been possible had we not had good government labor relations and good, solid working relations with our union teams,” he said. “Those relations are absolutely essential in maintaining our future viability.”

Continuing to be good stewards of base resources, taking care of people and the mission as effectively and efficiently as possible, and maintaining relations between labor and management and the community are all important should there be another round of the Base Realignment and Closure process.

By addressing ongoing infrastructure needs in the midst of declining budgets, with the reality of aging aircraft fleets and a steady demand for Air Force capabilities, it remains a tough balance, said King. About 250 facilities on base were built from 1941 through 1944, which continuous to present infrastructure challenges as buildings age. “Robins is not unique in our infrastructure challenges, but it’s important we continue to address those needs.”

King also talked about when a tornado and severe thunderstorm passed through the community earlier this spring that resulted in an estimated $5.2 million worth of damages to 11 facilities across Robins, in particular the roof of Bldg. 81, a C-17 hangar.

He spoke about the community’s incredible support of the base and its mission, in particular ongoing P4 initiatives – over 30 partnerships that include law enforcement, fire services and education entities – that help keep Robins viable.

King highlighted the Robins Ministerial Alliance, formed as a result of a Clergy Day Summit in early 2015, which seeks to offer spiritual care to Civilian Airmen across the base. The alliance is open to all faith groups with a goal of offering a network of spiritual opportunities as needed.

By working with local communities and private entities, P4 plays a vital role in assisting the Air Force and our community partners in cost-saving opportunities.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the base, which broke ground on Sept. 1, 1941 – a milestone celebration that shows decades of power projection in support of our nation’s interests. The base plans to celebrate this milestone and show our thanks for the community by hosting this fall’s Thunder Over Georgia Air Show, set for Oct. 1 and 2.

King said he expected there to be an estimated 200,000 spectators, similar to Robins’ last air show in 2012 when the Navy’s Blue Angels performed.

Headlining this year’s show will be “America’s Ambassadors in Blue,” the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, whose last visit here was in 2009. To date, other acts that will join them include the Commemorative Air Force, who will fly World War II veteran airplanes, the P-51 Mustang, Nakajima B5N and F4U Corsair; U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s Black Daggers parachute demonstration team; and Disabled American Veterans Flight Team.

“We’re definitely going to celebrate this as our 75th year of power projection, which will be a central theme that you’ll see at the air show,” said King. “Robins Air Force Base enjoys community support that is not seen anywhere else in the world. It’s really easy to come to work when you know that you’re wanted and appreciated. There’s no doubt that Every Day in Middle Georgia is Armed Forces Appreciation Day.”

Editor’s note: To receive air show updates, visit www.robins.af.mil or the Robins Facebook page.