Col. John Nichols, Commander of the 14th Flying Training Wing of the Columbus Air Force Base, spoke to the Exchange Club Thursday about changing the perception of the base as a “bottom-tier” base, among other things.
This perception stemmed from an article published in the Air Force Times in July 2014, that ranked the air force bases in order of best to worst for airmen. CAFB was tied for second to last out of 68 bases on the list.
According to the Air Force Times, these rankings were gathered based on school quality, cost of living, housing costs, commissary size, base exchange size, size of on-base health care facilities, crime rates, commute times, pollution levels, climate, unemployment rates and sales taxes.
Nichols pointed out that nine of the 12 criteria used to determine these ratings were unrelated to the base itself. Of the three metrics that were base-specific (commissary size, base exchange size, and size of on-base health care facilities), Nichols assured the Exchange Club that the base was on target for its size and capacity.
Base receives ‘effective’ rating
The reversal of this perception should be propagated by the Columbus AFB’s 2015 Unit Effectiveness Inspection. The base received an ‘effective’ rating, and any discrepancies listed were minor, according to Nichols. There was only one repeated discrepancy from last year’s inspection.
Nichols also discussed a problem that arose when trees on private property were obscuring the Air Force Base’s weather radar, making it difficult to determine the severity of weather patterns in a certain area. The problem was resolved by a partnership between the base and the private owner to remove the trees in question.
Base and public partnership
Nichols praised the relationship between the Golden Triangle public and the base, saying that it was “as good as it gets.” A credit to this is an event called Fireworks on the Water, hosted by the base and open to the public, that will take place on July 4th at 5 p.m. on the east portion of Lock End Dam.
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