Bolling beautification -- a team effort

  • Published
  • By Col. John Pletcher
  • 11th Mission Support Group commander
BOLLING AFB, D.C. --  As the commander of the 11th Mission Support Group, I have many responsibilities that support the variety of units and their missions here at Bolling Air Force Base. 

As "The Chief's Own" and host to numerous Air Force leadership events in the National Capitol Region, we welcome distinguished visitors here daily. Whether they are national, state or local leaders or one of the many foreign dignitaries who visit our installation, our appearance is expected to exceed the standards for a typical Air Force base. Our grass has to be greener, our streets have to be cleaner and our facilities have to be in top-notch condition. We can all take pride in the rave reviews we get from these visitors, and I appreciate the contributions you make to bring these accolades our way. 

That being said, we need every member of this proud installation to continue to be vigilant about the appearance of our base. There's always room for improvement. We get better every time each of us takes a few seconds to pick up a small amount of trash on the way to our next appointment. Our entire community benefits from each organization that commits to conducting daily or weekly sweeps of the exterior of their facilities. 

Our civil engineers and services team members, along with our grounds contractor, devote an inordinate amount of time and energy ensuring our base appearance standards are maintained at the highest level. But they can't do it alone. You can help by instilling pride in your own organizations and ensuring you don't walk past a problem. If something needs cleaning, repairing or improving, address it on the spot. 

When you make a point of cleaning up this base, you're supporting a key element of the 11th Wing mission, to "embody Air Force heritage." With your help, we can sustain and build on an already impressive record.