Commander inaugurates first tri-service base

Published Oct. 1, 2009
By Stephen Snyder and Tech. Sgt. Denise Johnson
Joint Base Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- The 87th Air Base Wing commander kicked off her first Commander's Call as she assumed the role of Commander, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, to celebrate the inauguration of the nation's only tri-base military installation here on October 1.

Dignitaries including congressmen, local politicians, military leaders and rank and file from the newly-formed base and local area listened to Col. Gina Grosso's eloquent and sometimes poignant testimony amid sunny and windswept terrain swirling around the hangar housing the Air National Guard's 108th Air Refueling Wing.

Colonel Grosso addressed challenges and opportunities amid attentive members of previous separate entities, McGuire Air Force Base, Fort Dix and Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, as the plan to transform three of America's military installations into one, went from paper to reality.

Noting that McGuire and Lakehurst originally evolved from Camp Dix, Colonel Grosso emphasized "what makes this transition so exciting is that of the twelve joint bases directed by the 2005 (Base Realignment and Closure) legislation, we are America's only tri-service joint base."

The Department of Defense estimates there will be a $2 billion savings over the next 20 years by consolidating 12 joint bases. But, Colonel Grosso said, that fact is not the most impressive in the base-coordinating scenarios.

According to the commander, unity should breed excellence.

"This new construct (has) the ability to take the best practices of each base and apply them across what will now be one installation," the colonel said. "For every installation management function, we have the opportunity to look at three unique ways of doing business and creating a new process that takes the best of the three."

JB MDL Deputy Commander and emcee for the ceremony, Col. Joseph Poth, validated the significance of the merger as he pre-empted Colonel Grosso's speech, "Today's ceremony marks a significant day in the history of McGuire, Dix and Lakehurst.

"As we mark this day, we want to welcome the newest members of our joint base team and highlight how our active-duty, reservists, guardsmen and civilians ensure total force integration by training and supporting installation operations, while preserving our country's homeland defense and sustaining full-spectrum operations," Colonel Poth explained.

The compilation of specific services is intended to allow each branch of service to maintain their respective identities and missions, while streamlining efforts to create efficiencies in support functions.

Colonel Grosso hailed the formidable combat capability supplied by the more-than 40 mission commanders at McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, while paying tribute to the joint-basing benefits which as of today, have become reality.

"Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen" should receive "better installation support, at a lower cost while having access to programs and services which were not previously available to them," concluded the colonel.

The commander's description of the new tri-service team gave due credence to this historical group of men and women as "the initial cadre of America's only tri-service base" whose "task is to provide world-class installation support to our joint warfighters and to commit to spreading best practices across the installation."

The joint base commander thanked former Congressman William Saxton, noting that, "Without his interest and commitment to McGuire, Fort Dix and Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, these three bases would have been closed long ago and their tremendous legacy lost forever."

She also thanked Congressman John Adler, who currently represents New Jersey's Third Congressional District, "For his direct and persistent intervention in fixing the pay disparity between civilian employees at McGuire, Dix and Lakehurst.

"He accomplished in a few months what the bureaucracy couldn't accomplish in twenty-five years," Colonel Grosso said.

That assured lifespan will be long, with a future formed by world events - a future filled with missions spanning land, sea and air, according to Colonel Poth, as he described the vast inventory now at the disposal of the joint warfighters here.

"The 305th Air Mobility Wing's KC-10 Extender and C-17 Globemaster III conduct
strategic airlift and air refueling missions worldwide; the 108th Air Refueling Wing's KC-135 Stratotanker supports air refueling and aeromedical evacuations; the New Jersey National Guard's UH-60 Blackhawk moves large payloads of equipment and personnel, much like the mass mobilizations we see day in and day out with our Soldiers on Dix; and the U.S. Coast Guard's vessels provide vigilant service upon the coastal and inland waters of the United States," he continued. "Together, we all join force to become America's premier joint warfighting base."

Colonel Grosso, in recognizing the transition, assured the audience the foundation of service has not changed, "The men and women of the 87th Air Base Wing will always be here when you need us."

The day was founded upon a concept of a joint endeavor brought to fruition; the guests, audience and speakers mirrored the joint theme.

The invocation, benediction, posting of the nation's colors and National Anthem were all delivered by Airmen, Soldiers and Seamen displaying various uniforms side-by-side, a sight soon to be the norm here at JB MDL.

Robert F. Kennedy once said, "The future is not a gift; but an achievement." Today, members of the tri-base stood as testament to this quote.

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