Oklahoma commanders gather at summit to crosstalk issues, opportunities

  • Published
  • By Amy Schiess
  • ​Air Force Sustainment Center Public Affairs

Military commanders from across the state have a better understanding of shared challenges and opportunities after meeting for the Oklahoma Commanders Summit at Tinker Air Force Base March 26.

Leaders from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Air National Guard, along with civilian representatives from agencies that work closely with the military, gathered for the summit to discuss common issues affecting each service in the state of Oklahoma.

“Our goal is to establish a coordinated military voice on the issues that matter the most to us,” said Lt. Gen. Gene Kirkland, commander of Air Force Sustainment Center. “We also have our state agency friends here with us today to help educate us on shared opportunities.”

Each attendee presented a short briefing about their area of responsibility and background on assets and topics of interest to their station or mission. Civilian agency representatives explained their roles and how they relate to the military, the state legislature, and the aerospace industry.

“It’s a great opportunity to get all these people in the room to discuss ‘What’s the order of the day for the military in the state of Oklahoma?’” said Grayson Ardies, deputy director for the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.

One topic is the current need for skilled labor such as aircraft maintainers, along with a requirement for engineers. Many of the civilian maintainers employed at Altus Air Force Base eventually move to Tinker because of the amenities Oklahoma City can offer, according to Col. Eric Carney, commander of 97th Air Mobility Wing there. Coupled with that concern is the civilian maintainer work force nearing retirement age.

“These professionals are foundational to our mission capabilities,” said Kirkland. “It is a state-wide challenge. We are not strategically producing enough skilled individuals to fill these jobs.”

The aerospace industry is currently the second largest in the state, with a $44 billion economic impact, behind the oil and gas industry, which has a $65 billion impact, said Vince Howie, Aerospace and Defense director, Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Military aviation has a $19.3 billion impact statewide, the largest within the aviation sector.

“We’re hopeful that the economy can continue to diversify with aviation aerospace leading the charge,” said Ardies. His hope is that “when oil and gas is going in a downturn, those people cannot have to go to other states. They can transition right into the aerospace sector and do something similar with their skill set in aviation and aerospace , whether its machine shops, tooling, maintenance, engineering, you name it.”

Howie mentioned that in the case of engineers, modern-day students may want to be video game designers and don’t realize that “in aerospace, we have some of the neatest ‘toys’ there are. You can write software for the B-2.”

“We talked a lot about Direct Hire Authority and partnering with the local community, different high schools and vocational centers,” said Col. Joseph Blanding, commander of the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant. “That was beneficial. It was a great opportunity to collaborate with my fellow commanders.”

The legislative liaison for AFSC, Mindy Banz, provided an overview of state legislation that could impact all federal installations including the implementation of the Real ID Act in Oklahoma, which will affect access to federal property.  Another item of legislation with military impacts is occupational licensing reciprocity, which addresses the way licenses to practice certain occupations such as cosmetology is handled between states. Currently, many states do not honor each other’s licensing, which results in high fees and wait time for a military spouse to practice their occupation after a PCS move.

Commanders also discussed state laws relating to marijuana use, the challenging impacts of wind farms near flight training bases, and infrastructure challenges.

“This has been extremely valuable,” said Col. Corey Simmons, commander of 71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB. “We have some cross-service challenges and we can leverage ideas from each other. Our jobs are very different, but many of our challenges are the same.”

Joe Gallagher, deputy to the commanding general of Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, agreed. “I haven’t seen anything similar to this in my 30-plus years of service,” he said. “Looking forward to next year.”

Oklahoma commanders gather at summit to crosstalk issues, opportunities

  • Published
  • By Amy Schiess
  • ​Air Force Sustainment Center Public Affairs

Military commanders from across the state have a better understanding of shared challenges and opportunities after meeting for the Oklahoma Commanders Summit at Tinker Air Force Base March 26.

Leaders from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Air National Guard, along with civilian representatives from agencies that work closely with the military, gathered for the summit to discuss common issues affecting each service in the state of Oklahoma.

“Our goal is to establish a coordinated military voice on the issues that matter the most to us,” said Lt. Gen. Gene Kirkland, commander of Air Force Sustainment Center. “We also have our state agency friends here with us today to help educate us on shared opportunities.”

Each attendee presented a short briefing about their area of responsibility and background on assets and topics of interest to their station or mission. Civilian agency representatives explained their roles and how they relate to the military, the state legislature, and the aerospace industry.

“It’s a great opportunity to get all these people in the room to discuss ‘What’s the order of the day for the military in the state of Oklahoma?’” said Grayson Ardies, deputy director for the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.

One topic is the current need for skilled labor such as aircraft maintainers, along with a requirement for engineers. Many of the civilian maintainers employed at Altus Air Force Base eventually move to Tinker because of the amenities Oklahoma City can offer, according to Col. Eric Carney, commander of 97th Air Mobility Wing there. Coupled with that concern is the civilian maintainer work force nearing retirement age.

“These professionals are foundational to our mission capabilities,” said Kirkland. “It is a state-wide challenge. We are not strategically producing enough skilled individuals to fill these jobs.”

The aerospace industry is currently the second largest in the state, with a $44 billion economic impact, behind the oil and gas industry, which has a $65 billion impact, said Vince Howie, Aerospace and Defense director, Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Military aviation has a $19.3 billion impact statewide, the largest within the aviation sector.

“We’re hopeful that the economy can continue to diversify with aviation aerospace leading the charge,” said Ardies. His hope is that “when oil and gas is going in a downturn, those people cannot have to go to other states. They can transition right into the aerospace sector and do something similar with their skill set in aviation and aerospace , whether its machine shops, tooling, maintenance, engineering, you name it.”

Howie mentioned that in the case of engineers, modern-day students may want to be video game designers and don’t realize that “in aerospace, we have some of the neatest ‘toys’ there are. You can write software for the B-2.”

“We talked a lot about Direct Hire Authority and partnering with the local community, different high schools and vocational centers,” said Col. Joseph Blanding, commander of the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant. “That was beneficial. It was a great opportunity to collaborate with my fellow commanders.”

The legislative liaison for AFSC, Mindy Banz, provided an overview of state legislation that could impact all federal installations including the implementation of the Real ID Act in Oklahoma, which will affect access to federal property.  Another item of legislation with military impacts is occupational licensing reciprocity, which addresses the way licenses to practice certain occupations such as cosmetology is handled between states. Currently, many states do not honor each other’s licensing, which results in high fees and wait time for a military spouse to practice their occupation after a PCS move.

Commanders also discussed state laws relating to marijuana use, the challenging impacts of wind farms near flight training bases, and infrastructure challenges.

“This has been extremely valuable,” said Col. Corey Simmons, commander of 71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB. “We have some cross-service challenges and we can leverage ideas from each other. Our jobs are very different, but many of our challenges are the same.”

Joe Gallagher, deputy to the commanding general of Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, agreed. “I haven’t seen anything similar to this in my 30-plus years of service,” he said. “Looking forward to next year.”