Commander proud of 78th’s progress Published June 24, 2011 By Wayne Crenshaw 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- From parking shortages to budget constraints, the 78th Air Base Wing is grappling with big challenges, but outgoing commander Col. Carl Buhler believes the wing is on the right path. Buhler, who will hand over command of the unit to Col. Mitchel Butikofer on June 30, said he has witnessed much progress in the wing during his time here. "It is definitely on an incline," he said. "I'm very proud of what we've done so far." One of the biggest improvements he counts is the increase in collaboration. Buhler said many organizations at Robins are now working together to achieve the ultimate mission of effectively and efficiently producing airpower for the warfighter. "I think the 78th is becoming more collaborative," he said. "For instance, a maintenance wing employee recently told me, in his 30-plus years here, he has never seen the air base wing so collaborative and ready to lean forward to help. That's a sign of success." He also said he's pleased with the wing's record of compliance, based on several outside inspections, regular self inspections and customer feedback. Additionally, he said the 78th has made significant progress in the area of process improvement. During his tenure, the wing has faced significant challenges, including parking shortages resulting from the combination of hiring hundreds of new employees and executing several American Restoration and Recovery Act-funded programs. The wing has also worked to reduce energy consumption base-wide, starting with its own headquarters building, in which numerous measures were taken to reduce night-time energy consumption at a sustained 35 percent rate since last July. But he said the biggest challenge ahead for the unit is continuing to cope with budget constraints. "As efficient as we are now with the resources we have, imagine how efficient we're going to have to be in the future to keep that same level of service with an even further constrained budget," he said. "It's going to take more innovative thinking and, quite frankly, the way we're doing business now is not going to be good enough, as we strive to overcome further resource cuts in the future." He said his best advice to his successor is to be resilient. "I've found many folks don't fully understand how many tentacles an air base wing has out there, and how an air base wing affects all of the other organizations, both positively and negatively," he said. "You have to be very thick skinned in this job, because you get a lot of advice and mandates from a lot of different folks. "If you treat the advice as someone putting things on your radar scope and then follow through and address those issues, then that's the right approach," he added. "But if you treat it as people complaining about your organization, things probably won't improve." Butikofer is currently serving as director of communications at Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Buhler knows Butikofer well and recommended him to be his successor. "I was hoping we would be able to get him, so we could have someone to continue on with the great success of this wing," Buhler said. Buhler is headed to the Pentagon to serve as the associate director of program integration (Engine Room), Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Installations and Mission Support. The unit is charged with integrating A4/7's annual program and budget while also defending logistics resources during program scrutiny. In his final thoughts, Buhler expressed appreciation to the other Team Robins leaders he has worked with here, as well as the leadership of the installation's 37 hosted partners on base, especially pointing out his appreciation to his fellow wing commanders, past and present. "They are some of the sharpest, most mission-focused folks I have ever had the opportunity to work with," he said. He also expressed appreciation to those who serve in the 78th. "At the end of the day - for example - it's the folks who are fueling up the aircraft, seeing patients in the medical clinic, guarding the gates, fixing the roads, and running our communications networks. Those are the folks making the mission happen each and every day," Buhler said. "The happiest I am, is when I'm able to go out and see them in action."