Col. John Nichols, commander of the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus Air Force Base, discussed the base’s 2015 strategic plan Friday at a Base Community Council meeting in the Columbus Club.
During Nichols’ 20-minute presentation — which he described as a “shotgun blast of information” — he addressed issues ranging from the wing’s basic military mission to improving the relationship between the base and the community. He also outlined ways the strategic plan aimed to “reverse the perception” of CAFB as a “bottom-tier” base.
In fiscal year 2014, Nichols said CAFB had been the “busiest place, by far” under the Air Education and Training Command of the U.S. Air Force, with pilots logging a total of 77,000 flying hours. This weekend, he said, the base will complete its Unit Effectiveness Inspection “capstone event,” where AETC will grade it on resources, leading people, improving the unit and executing its mission.
“I’ll tell you that with the feedback I’ve been getting so far, I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re in a really good place,” Nichols said.
“At the end of the day, what we do here at Columbus Air Force Base is produce pilots, advance airmen and feed the fight,” he said. “If we stop doing those things, the wheels will come off and they’re going to close this place. We do a doggone good job of our mission here.”
Afghan pilots mission, training aircraft
Beyond its mission at CAFB that trains pilots mostly on T-38 aircraft, the 14th FTW earlier this year to command of a training mission for Afghan pilots on A-29 Super Tucano aircraft at Moody air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia.
So far, Nichols said eight Afghan pilots had enrolled in the program’s first class, and the mission will ultimately train 30 Afghan pilots and 90 maintainers. At the program’s end, he said the Afghans will return home with the A-29s.
Nichols also spoke briefly about what will replace the T-38 as the next generation flight training aircraft. He said the base should be training pilots on the TX aircraft by about 2023.
“We know that the T-38 is aging, we know that it doesn’t have what is necessary to train future pilots for our force, and if we don’t do anything, the United States of America is going to have the ninth best pilot training system in the world,” Nichols said. “We don’t go around saying ‘I’m ninth best in the SEC.’ Man, no one says that. Who wants to be ninth best?”
‘This wing reaches out to the community’
Nichols said the base had also made marked progress in correcting a “critical deficiency” the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) identified — a deficiency that, if left unchecked, could affect the base’s very existence.
He said the base recently struck a deal with the owner of private land adjacent to the base to cut trees that were affecting National Weather Service radar readings in 14 total counties in Mississippi and Alabama.
“We started making sawdust (on Thursday),” Nichols said. “Matter of fact, I heard from the weather guys today that that blind spot just opened up, even from the initial cutting of the trees. That is a victory.”
Nichols thanked the BCC and other community leaders for their continued support of the base and pledged that the 14th FTW would continue to strive to make a positive impact in Columbus and the Golden Triangle.
“This wing consistently reaches out to the community and you do the same for us,” Nichols said. “That relationship is important, and we are going to make sure it never falters.”
Base Community Council President Larry Cantrell said after Friday’s meeting that Nichols’ presentation encouraged him, especially his commitment to strengthen community relations. The council’s goal, he said, is to help provide the community quality of life for airmen and their families so that the soldiers can better focus on their mission.
“We were extremely honored to have Col. Nichols here,” Cantrell said. “He is such an outgoing leader … the Air Force base works hard to make the most of its resources, and we want to do our part to help them feed the fight.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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