News

Commanding performance: Berry bids farewell to base, community

  • Published
  • By Wayne Crenshaw
  • 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Col. Warren Berry has been in the Air Force for 21 years, but the outgoing commander of the 78th Air Base Wing calls his experience here "probably the most rewarding challenge I've had in my career."

He will relinquish command in a ceremony July 8, turning the reins over to Col. Carl A. Buhler, who is currently commander of the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Group in Southwest Asia.

Colonel Berry said the challenging part of his job here is the expansive nature of Robins, which includes such diverse groups as the 116th Air Control Wing, the Air Force Reserve Command Headquarters and the 5th Combat Communications Group, not to mention the flagship Warner Robins Air Logistics Center. The only other base he has served at with as many diverse missions is Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

The 78th ABW is charged with providing the services that those varying units need to succeed.

"I think the challenging part of this is that an air base wing doesn't serve itself," he said. "The air base wing exists as an enabler of other missions on the base. It's trying to find ways to say 'yes' and to balance all those competing priorities. There's just so many competing interests that you really have to get creative sometimes to find solutions that don't involve lose-lose but involve win-win."

The rewarding part, he said, is seeing how the people in the wing operate under those complex circumstances.

"Overall, the rewarding part is just watching the professional Airmen and civilians in this wing perform the way they do every day," he said. "They are a remarkable lot. I've said it before, but 98 percent of what happens in this wing doesn't require a decision from me, and 99.9 percent of the time, they get them all right. They are a great group of people."

Although he regrets leaving Robins, he is headed for an intriguing job at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where he will be working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His official job title is assistant deputy director for political military affairs for the Western Hemisphere.

The job involves developing military strategy, military policy, and engaging the militaries of other countries in the Western Hemisphere. It will also thrust him into one of the most significant national security issues of the day - the growing violence among drug traffickers in Mexico and other Latin American nations. He will be working with those nations to try to help figure out ways to fight the tide of violence and drug trafficking. It's a challenge that he is looking forward to tackling, he said.

Asked at the end of the interview whether he had any other parting words, Colonel Berry turned his attention outside the gates of Robins. While every Air Force base where he has served has some level of community support, he said, Warner Robins takes it up a notch.

"Out of all of the communities I've been too, you come here and there's something different," he said. "It's palpably different. It's noticeably different. It's better. It's hard to put into words what that 'it' factor is but you really notice it; their support to the base and mission has absolutely been critical."