Wing All Call: Hard work is paying off Published Dec. 2, 2008 By Monte Miller 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- In case you missed it, here is a brief recap of the Wing All Calls held last week. Col. Gary Goldstone, 375th Airlift Wing commander unveiled his vision for the wing and the direction he plans to take it. A new tagline for the wing and its mission is "Enabling Combat Power" which goes hand in hand with the wing's vision. "Providing precise combat capability to the warfighter...Always," Colonel Goldstone said. "Our mission is stable, reliable and we repeat it all the time." Col. Curt Connell, 375th Operations Group commander, reported on the progress of the Scott Field Heritage Airpark and what to expect in the future. He recapped the work that has already been done by moving the C-141 Starlifter and the C-9 Nightingale into place and what has delayed the next aircraft from being put into place. The next plane will be a KC-135 either A or E model, but the decision has to be made in Washington as to the future of the A-model. "The plane is ready to go," Colonel Connell said. "We hope to get it out there next summer." In the meantime, grass seed has been sown and is already growing to give the Airpark in progress an aesthetic look in between phases. Colonel Connell also spoke about the aeromedical evacuation missions flown in and out of Scott and the wing's C-21 distinguished visitor mission. He also highlighted a few of the big names the 932nd Airlift Wing has flown in the past year including the Secretary of the Air Force, President Hamid Karzai of Aphganistan and the Prime Minister of Iraq. Next to speak was Col. Melissa Applegate, 375th Mission Support Group commander, who spoke about many improvements being made around base. A $3.8 million lighting retrofit is underway in 85 facilities, $126,000 has gone into renovations in the Airman Leadership School and $2.5 million has been spent in Airman dorm remediations and upgrades. Colonel Applegate also announced the opening of the new Shiloh dorm is upcoming. All construction is complete, but the ribbon cutting will follow furniture delivery. A big project on the horizon for the 375th MSG is the construction of a new $7.2 million Child Development Center. Ground is expected to be broken in March. Many changes have also been made in the 375th Medical Group. Col. Pete Peters, 375th Medical Group deputy commander, presented a long list of ongoing changes and upgrades taking place at the base clinic which may affect everyone on base. The $36 million clinic renovations are still underway and because of the construction, Colonel Peters said different entrances and exits to the clinic are blocked off at different times due to renovated areas reopening and older areas being shut down. He asked everyone visiting the clinic to be patient and pardon their dust. Colonel Peters also reported on the progress the 375th MDG has made with private ambulance provider, MedStar, that contracted with the wing in March to provide all emergency ambulance service to the more than 60,000 people that live and work on Scott Air Force Base. "It has been hugely successful," Colonel Peters said. "They are averaging about three calls per day on base with a response time of six minutes." He added a few bugs had to be worked out with the civilian medics regarding access to some buildings on base that are highly secure, but the challenge has been met and there shouldn't be any problems in the future. One area where the 375th MDG is experiencing frustration is in 'no-shows' at the base clinic for medical appointments. Colonel Peters explained it costs the MDG approximately $230 per appointment in staff and utilities costs. Each time an appointment is missed that money is wasted. He asks anyone that can't make a previously scheduled appointment to call the clinic to tell them they can't make it, so the appointment time can be used for someone else. Col. Curt Piontkowsky, 375th Communications Group commander, gave a brief report on what projects the 375th CG has been working on to streamline current processes. He highlighted the automated customer sign-up for the Military Personnel Flight and a new online visitor pass registration for Security Forces. He also reminded all Scott personnel to be vigilant in keeping the base networks secure by locking your computers each time you leave your desks.