Though he has only been at Columbus Air Force Base for nearly a year, Base Commander Col. Justin Grieve said there is no place quite like the Friendly City.
“If I had known that Columbus was this amazing, I would have come here (sooner),” Grieve said. “I literally picked from a chart. I wanted the first pilot training date I could get after my 60 days of leave from the (Air Force) Academy. … I would have totally come here.”
Grieve was the featured speaker at the quarterly Town and Tower Club tarmac-themed event Thursday afternoon at Cochran Hall at Mississippi University for Women.
During his speech, Grieve mentioned the base is set to launch its own STARBASE program for fifth-graders in the Columbus Municipal and Lowndes County school districts.
STARBASE is an educational program by the Department of Defense in which fifth grade students participate in hands-on activities in science, technology, engineering and math, according to the DoD website. Students are taught by qualified educators and interact with military personnel to see real world applications of STEM on base.
“We’re giving up some space, and we’re turning it into two classrooms where (students) can do STEM — think Lego robotics, 3-D printing,” Grieve said. “… The idea is that we will align the students as they come through at a fifth-grade level to STEM-type ideas on the base. They’re going to see our team in action, and this will be facilitated by professional educators, not people in uniforms.”
Grieve said he hopes to have the program running by 2024, and there will be about three to five positions available to teach students. He said it’s not just for students in the local public schools, but fifth-graders in private schools and those who are homeschooled are welcome to attend STARBASE.
MUW President Nora Miller said the mission of the Town and Tower Club is to foster and strengthen relationships between the university, the community and Columbus Air Force Base.
During the first year of his command, Grieve noted, he has tried to involve civilians in the community more with what is going on at base with events such as the Base Community Council and a rock ‘n roll festival.
He said BCC will break for the summer but resume in the fall. He wants to have guest speakers like an expert on China and people who were part of the Afghanistan evacuation.
“We are going to work next year to set a calendar year’s worth of programs (for BCC). That way people know what’s happening,” Grieve said. “… We did four BCC luncheons earlier this year, and we’re working toward starting back up in August. We took a summer break, and we’re going to take a winter break.”
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