Col. King: ‘Robins Air Force Base had an exceptional year’

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The leader of Robins Air Force Base says the state of the base is “exceptional.”

He and other commanders addressed dozens about the base’s performance last year, and what’s next as Robins continues to bring billion to the state’s economy.

“The air base wing has had a phenomenal year,” Col. Jeff King, 78th Air Base Wing Commander, said.

From growth to impact, Col. King says Robins has done it all in the year.

“We’re really on a road to recovery and this fiscal year was a great first step,” he said.

Robins brought in nearly $2.75 billion for the state’s economy in 2015, and King says it’s due in part to the team effort to complete base missions.

“38 mission partners on this installation and the personnel from the Air Base Wing bring 22,000 direct employees. Our family members are employed in the community. We contract out to local and state-wide agencies to perform,” King said.

Base leaders say production is ahead of where’s it’s supposed to be for the year.

As concerns and questions about budgets and base realignment and closures (BRAC) continue to surface, Warner Robins Mayor Randy Toms says it’s the community’s job to prepare and help the base as much as possible.

“Because we are taking care of the people who take care of the mission and I think that’s the essential opponent to the community being ready for any type of BRAC,” Toms said.

He and King agree the relationship between Robins and the city helps the base thrive.

“Community support is just tremendous. It’s a very necessary thing as far as today’s Department of Defense and in the Air Force,” King said.

“Communication between the leadership on and off the base is essential to keep going in the right direction,” Toms said.

King is positive the base is headed in the right direction.

“Having been places where the far other extreme — where they’re shooting at you to being at a base like Robins where people are so happy to have you here and they just want to know what they can do to help; it just makes it easy to come to work every day in that kind of environment,” King said.

Col. King says the base relies heavily on community support and adds Robins has about 41,000 retirees in the are looking to continue serving in some capacity.

That’s third most in the entire Air Force.