WEBVTT
00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:14.320
Welcome to Brought Better Together with a new show from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, where we connect with key leaders and explore the policy, partnerships, and opportunities to give in the future of Central Ohio.
00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:29.839
Welcome back to Growing Better Together.
00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:34.719
This podcast is about having a conversation with Central Ohio leaders.
00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:43.679
The first few episodes were with local government leaders or elected officials, but today's conversation is going to be a little bit different.
00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:52.479
What's great about Central Ohio is we have so many different assets, but one that's a really big one is our unique defense assets.
00:00:53.119 --> 00:01:03.520
You know, I've worked at Morpsey for several years, and in that work, I have the opportunity to work with local governments, members of the business community.
00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:07.840
But whenever I talk to folks, I mention how we do defense work.
00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:14.480
And it's always, you know, a little bit surprising to people when I uh I mention that work.
00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:30.159
We will talk about it a little bit more uh later, but we facilitate a group called the Central Ohio Defense Group, which is a coalition of about six different partners working together to elevate our unique defense assets.
00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:42.159
And through that work, I've really had the privilege of working with the 121st air refueling wing and have gotten to know Colonel Powers, who's the commander at that base.
00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.799
And I uh I welcome Colonel Powers to uh to Growing Better Together.
00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:48.640
Thank you so much for joining us today.
00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:49.760
Absolutely, thank you, Joe.
00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:50.719
It's a pleasure to be here.
00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:52.400
Yeah, really honored.
00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:56.879
Uh it's been uh it's been fun getting to know you uh over the years.
00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:58.400
So we'll just start off.
00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:03.359
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what attracted you to serving in the military.
00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:03.840
Sure.
00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:06.000
So you're you're talking about like going back like like historical.
00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:07.040
Yeah, yeah.
00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:07.439
Sure.
00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:09.680
Let's go back to the 20th century.
00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:11.039
Thank you.
00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:11.840
Thank you very much.
00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:18.159
So uh I grew up uh exposed to the Ohio, uh the Ohio Air National Guard specifically.
00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:20.000
Uh I'm a second generation guardsman.
00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:26.000
Uh my father was a pilot, uh and I just kind of got exposed to that uh early on, knew that I wanted uh to be a pilot.
00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:36.960
Um the night nice thing about the the National Guard, whether it be the the military at large or the reserve, you know, active duty military or the reserve component, uh they teach skills and trades, and there's college benefits.
00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:46.400
So, like many, uh leverage the military for college benefits to pay for a degree, uh, but once you're there, you really find that it's the people, uh, and that's why I'm still there.
00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:52.719
Everybody around, uh everybody around me, all the people that I get to work with every day, uh, both at Rick and Backer and across the Air National Guard.
00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:56.960
The Ohio National Guard is truly amazing people, uh, absolutely special people to work with.
00:02:57.280 --> 00:02:58.159
That's fantastic.
00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:03.680
So when you were younger, what decided you to go into the the Air National Guard specifically?
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:14.400
Yeah, so again, just kind of that exposure, uh, you know, I had an opportunity on on various guard weekends, and uh just a little bit of background, you know, the Ohio National Guard uh is comprised of the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.
00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:17.599
I'm in the Air National Guard, it's also a reserve component of the Air Force.
00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:21.199
But the National Guard is a part-time force predominantly.
00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:22.879
So most of our people do this.
00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:26.960
You'll hear sometimes maybe on the commercials the one week in a month, two weeks a year type commitment.
00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:32.240
And that's really a misnomer in today's day and age with the amount of readiness that we have to maintain.
00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:38.479
Uh, but that's the basic, the basic requirement that most people uh um uh understand when they when they hear reserve component.
00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:48.319
But but again, you know, um that early exposure coming out, uh learning about the National Guard, uh, you know, having a father that was involved, just you know, it's hey, that's something I want to do.
00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:56.879
You know, it's the the ability to serve, the ability to give back to others, to be uh a part of your community uh is very important, a very rewarding part of the job.
00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:04.000
And then you know the neat thing about the National Guard that a lot of people don't understand is that we are predominantly a community-based force as well.
00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:10.080
So, you know, in the state of Ohio, there are armories on the Army National Guard side spread all over the state.
00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:12.080
And there's a number here in Central Ohio.
00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:14.719
Uh the Air Guard tends to be clustered into larger organizations.
00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:16.480
There's four major wings in Ohio.
00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:21.439
Uh again, the 121st Airy Feeling Wing at Rickenbacker is the largest here in Columbus.
00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:31.680
Uh, but there's also wings in Toledo, Mansfield, and Springfield, and then we have some geographically separated units in the Port Clinton, the uh uh the Zanesville, and the Blue Ash areas.
00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:35.279
So it's kind of a large footprint, but it's that spread out force.
00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:37.120
So you see it's all across the state.
00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:41.279
Uh and as I mentioned, the Army Guard armories, they're not in every county, but they're in quite a few.
00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:41.759
Right.
00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:47.759
Uh so really out there, rather than having one large major base, they're just kind of spread across the communities that we live and we serve in.
00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:49.439
So it's an interesting, unique thing about the National Guard.
00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:50.480
Yeah, no, thank you.
00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:51.759
Uh thank you for sharing that.
00:04:51.920 --> 00:05:02.720
So a lot of Morpsey staff and a lot of community leaders might know about the 121st air refueling wing at Reckenbacker, but a lot of listeners don't.
00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:06.160
So what is it, what's and what's the mission?
00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:06.720
Sure.
00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:11.040
So the 121st air refueling wing is comprised of a a little over 1200.
00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:12.000
The number varies a little bit.
00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:22.560
Right now it's about 1,211 uh military and civilian airmen who operate 12 KC-135R stratotankers, and that's the backbone of the United States Air Force's air refueling capability.
00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:38.000
So our our major purpose uh is to provide that uh air refueling capability, refueling other aircraft in flight and agile combat supports, all those things you need to sustain aircraft, uh to enable people uh and to project power forward.
00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:41.279
All of that wrapped up in that is the mission of the 121st.
00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:45.839
And kind of sum it up by our our mission statement is prepare, deter, execute.
00:05:46.000 --> 00:06:13.600
And really what that means is that we we prepare ready, resilient airmen who are capable of, who stand ready to answer the call at a moment's notice, whether it's providing uh disaster response support to civil authorities in times of domestic emergencies or deterring our potential adversaries that might want to jeopardize our American ideals, uh, or if deterrence fails, on order we will execute our core airy feeling, those agile combat support capabilities to deliver that combat air power anywhere, anytime that our nation needs.
00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:22.639
Could you just provide like a maybe a recent example when uh folks at the 121st were called to help with a national or uh global issue?
00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:29.519
Yeah, I can I can actually talk to both of those, both uh, you know, the uh here at home Ohioans helping Ohioans, Ohioans helping North Carolinians.
00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:39.759
Um, you know, just going back a few years, uh the the National Guard, both the Air and the Army National Guard in Ohio, and really all of the National Guards across the United States were heavily tasked during the COVID epidemic.
00:06:40.000 --> 00:07:00.319
Everything from enabling and supporting uh and augmenting hospital staff to uh assisting in jails to uh distributing food through area food banks uh to helping uh um health agencies administer COVID vaccines, you name it, the the National Guard was out across the communities providing support.
00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:05.600
That's probably the largest mobilization of the National Guard since World War II was COVID response.
00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:14.319
Shortly after COVID, we we saw Air National Guards, specifically some 121st airy-filling members, uh helping out in the Indian Lake region, Logan County region after the tornadoes.
00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:20.800
So right there, that's that Ohioans helping Ohioans, kind of one of our bread and butter missions, bread and butter purposes.
00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:34.560
Uh and then another uh more recent example is uh you know Hurricane Helene came uh up the up the coast uh in in late 2024, fall of 2024, and had particularly devastating flooding in the North Carolina region, especially the mountain areas.
00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:44.800
Uh and we deployed our fatality search and recovery team to help local authorities in North Carolina conduct search and rescue operations in the immediate aftermath of that that hurricane passing through.
00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:51.360
Uh and that's a story that I like to highlight that that that team is almost entirely uh drill staff's guardsmen or those part-timers.
00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:59.759
Uh, and from when you know Ohio got the call from North Carolina that we need help, uh, they were boots on ground supporting North Carolina authorities in less than 30 hours.
00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:02.399
And so you think about that, you know, that's us calling them at home.
00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:10.800
Yeah, you know, saying, hey, we need you to come in, get your gear ready, get marshaled, and drive your your vehicle's convoy down to North Carolina to get something operating in just that short amount of time.
00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:16.879
I mean true, true uh demonstration of the citizen soldier, citizen airman nature of the National Guard.
00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:19.279
Yeah, thank you so much for your leadership and service.
00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:25.360
Uh I know um with the tornadoes last year, a lot of folks in our community were deeply impacted by that.
00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:26.160
So thank you.
00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:30.480
Um so you're the commander of the 121st era and wing.
00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:32.639
What does that entail?
00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:43.519
Well, uh, you know, really my job is to is to provide resources, remove obstacles, give people the the time and the space to do great things and then get out of the way.
00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:43.759
Yeah.
00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:48.720
You know, it's uh it is it is you know help helping build that common vision, that common purpose for the organization.
00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:52.240
So when folks say lead, follow, and get out of the way, you wish to find I get out of the way.
00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:53.120
You can do all of those.
00:08:54.799 --> 00:09:00.320
No, but it's it's really most importantly is getting resources that our airmen need to do their job.
00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:07.039
You know, as not unique to the 121st, not unique to even the military, you know, we are in a busy time.
00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:17.039
Um, you know, uh global uh global trends, global changes are our you know continuing in just general resource-constrained environment that we're in today.
00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:27.120
Uh you know, we need to find new and innovative ways to do things, uh, and that's been kind of a mantra for a while now, but but to really be creative on how we get after the problem sets and the challenges today.
00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:40.240
So, really, my role as a leader is to kind of set the conditions to allow the that innovation to incubate and grow uh and and and ensure that our people have everything they need to do the the jobs when they are and they're ready to do their jobs uh when they're called upon.
00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:41.919
Thank you for that.
00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.639
Uh it doesn't sound like there's a lot of typical days.
00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:46.080
Is there a lot?
00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:50.399
As a matter of fact, yeah, there uh there are really no typical days.
00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:52.000
Every day's a little bit different.
00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:55.360
Um our wing is a heavily, heavily engaged wing.
00:09:55.519 --> 00:10:02.639
Um you know, we have we support uh we deploy regularly on uh uh our federal mission overseas.
00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:09.279
Uh we had a large team uh deploy uh over um the the October to March time frame.
00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:13.840
It was part of our regular recurring uh deployment cycle for that agile combat support.
00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:25.519
So think everybody that protects the base, provides communications infrastructure, firefighting, um, logistics support, all of that and more is wrapped up in that agile combat support capability.
00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:30.000
And so we had a number of people, a large contingent, about 10% of the wing, out for six months.
00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:33.120
Uh and we really saw them go to different spots around the world.
00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:40.240
We had teams in the in the Indo-Pacific region, we had teams in the European Command region, we had teams in the Central Command region.
00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:44.879
Uh so really uh very geographically diverse application of our missions.
00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:58.159
And then more recently, we deployed our our aviation and maintenance package consisting of the uh the KC-135s themselves and uh air crew and maintainers to the Indo-Pacific region as part of our standard rotational cycle there.
00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:03.759
And so we really see a lot of deployments, a lot of engagement from the wing in our federal missions.
00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:18.799
Uh, and then we have our Title 32 organized train and equip missions that we do to build that combat readiness and to prepare people to be ready to go out the door at a moment's notice again for that domestic emergency or domestic response support to uh the our overseas combat missions.
00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:27.519
So the 121st Air Refueling Wing is an asset because of all the services you provide to the state and the country and the world for that matter.
00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:37.759
Um but also from a jobs perspective, just the the broader defense community in central Ohio, there's 8,000 jobs that impact uh the region.
00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:49.919
Um that's part of the reason I alluded to earlier, the Central Ohio Defense Group, where we really try to get communities working together to see how we can be an asset to the defense installations here in Central Ohio.
00:11:50.159 --> 00:12:03.039
Could you elaborate a little bit about the partnership of the Central Ohio Defense Group in your capacity as commander of the 121st Air Rufing Wing, and then maybe talk a little bit about the association of defense communities?
00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:04.240
Sure, sure.
00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:18.559
So the programs you're talking about are kind of under uh some broader umbrellas of the Department of War's Office of Local Defense, Community Cooperation and the Air Force's uh community partnerships uh uh divisions within within the services.
00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:29.759
Uh and they are really looking for ways that that military organizations can build relationships with with surrounding uh governmental and in some instances non-governmental entities.
00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:36.799
Uh to really, as you mentioned earlier, you know, we're we're in an environment where we we have to be creative and approach things differently.
00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:42.240
Uh and maybe there's a way that we can pool our resources, our pool our buying power for lack of a better term.
00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:46.720
You know, we have very similar issues uh in terms of general training needs.
00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:50.639
Uh, I think skills training, you know, like like vehicle maintenance or engine maintenance.
00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.960
You know, there's a lot of things that carry over to the civilian world for the military world.
00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:57.120
Um everybody needs roads repaved.
00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:07.440
And so there's a number of areas where we can work together to leverage our buying power that when we buy at scale, uh it reduces the unit cost for multiple entities out there.
00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:09.759
Uh and that's just that's an example of that.
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:18.240
Um you know, mentioning just the the broader defense community, we're really grateful to enjoy wonderful support from the central Ohio community specifically.
00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:25.120
Um, we've had a long-standing relationship with the Columbus Regional Airport Authority and several of the entities around.
00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:43.039
Uh, and we've been able to help those entities uh get funds through federal programs like the Franklin County Engineers Office recently got uh build grant, and I'm gonna butcher the Alam Creek Drive, the Alum Creek Improvement Corridor, which connects you know Rickenbacker to 270.
00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:50.320
And that supports literally thousands of military personnel, most of them part-time, that are stationed based at Rickenbacker.
00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.360
Uh and it just there's there's defense value in that.
00:13:53.679 --> 00:14:17.919
Uh similarly, the Columbus Regional Airport Authority uh recently, about two years ago now, uh was awarded a nearly$9 million grant through the Defense Community Infrastructure Program to rehabilitate uh the inside runway uh at Rickenbacker, which ordinarily would, you know, from an FAA funding standpoint doesn't meet the threshold because of the number of sorties flying from Rickenbacker, but it's truly a very strategic asset for the military and for the 121st.
00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:26.399
And so for us to be able to work together to get that, to keep that capability uh viable uh for our region is incredibly important.
00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:33.919
It's really helpful for us as well because we facilitated the defense group for I'd say about eight or nine years now.
00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:37.679
And Steve Tugan chairs that uh that initiative.
00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:57.679
But when we have our regional policy roundtable, which is local government leaders focusing on public policy issues, we actually just had the meeting today, is we always have a defense update on what's going on uh at the Defense Supply Center of Columbus, what's happening at the 121st Air Refueling Wing, what DCP projects do we need to advocate on.
00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:07.279
So it's it's really helpful to convene and learn from you, but also we can help report out on what's going on and what are the priorities in the region.
00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:10.559
So it's a it's just a really, really uh important tool.
00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:16.559
Speaking of important tools, uh, one thing is there's an intergovernmental support agreement.
00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:18.639
The acronym is uh an IGSA.
00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:19.120
Yes.
00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:33.120
And this is something we've been looking into here in the region as a potential uh tool in regards to reducing costs with the Department of War, uh, but also generating revenue in Central Ohio.
00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:37.360
Uh, could you tell us a little bit about that tool and how it could benefit the region?
00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:38.240
Sure, sure.
00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:51.440
So uh from my understanding, my perspective, the the intergovernmental support agreement is essentially a non-traditional contracting mechanism where there's an established relationship between the military entity and this surrounding governmental body.
00:15:51.519 --> 00:16:08.480
And again, like I was alluding to earlier, where there's those shared those shared uh challenges or goals that we each need to do, whether it be training or procuring a particular thing, or again, that that infrastructure improvement modernization, uh we all have uh similar needs in that way.
00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:26.960
So if there that intergovernmental intergovernmental support agreement is a mechanism by which the military can leverage essentially the contracting mechanism of that surrounding governmental entity, or um in some instances, even that you know some governmental entities may have their own roads departments or something like that.
00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:38.879
Is there a way that that that type of service could be provided to the military at a at a more reasonable or or or lower cost than through the traditional uh contracting mechanism?
00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:46.559
And the idea is that that these build resilience both at in in the military community but also in the surrounding the surrounding community as well.
00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:46.960
Yeah.
00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:48.799
Well, thank you for for sharing that.
00:16:48.879 --> 00:17:01.840
What's one thing that's always interesting about talking to folks in the military, whether it's you or other folks in the Central Holly Defense Group, is planners and working at Morpsey and working with the state or federal government, there are so many acronyms.
00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:04.799
Go to a defense-related meeting.
00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:05.359
Oh, yes.
00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:08.400
I I mean I it so much of it goes over my head.
00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:10.319
Just sidebar here.
00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:15.200
How long does it take to understand the language of defense?
00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:21.119
Uh well, Joe, you you probably need a couple of years to gain fluency, but it's uh it's a dynamic and ever-evolving language.
00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:27.599
And uh at some point, you when you realize that there are acronyms within acronyms, uh, you get to that at PhD level.
00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:28.319
Yeah, yeah.
00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:33.519
I am I am not at the PhD, I'm like pre-K level when it comes to some of those uh defense acronyms.
00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:43.119
Um so we talked about the KC-135s, but there's also a unique opportunity for the 121st air refueling wing with the uh KC-46s.
00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:43.599
Yes.
00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:48.079
Could you uh elaborate on that opportunity and the impact it would have on the region?
00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:48.960
Sure, sure.
00:17:49.119 --> 00:18:03.519
So the the uh the the Air Force right now is in the uh in the midst or in in uh working towards modernizing, really recapitalizing the KC-135, which is, I mentioned earlier, it is the principal air fueling asset in the United States Air Force.
00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:13.039
It is the backbone of our air refueling capability, and air refueling really gives the Air Force and the US military writ-large its global uh capability to respond quickly.
00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:15.599
You can't really do anything without without air refueling.
00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:23.119
Uh the KC-46 for us uh would bring us to the forefront of the Air Force's air refueling capability.
00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:43.279
Um it is uh based on the the Boeing 7.6 platform, uh it has uh far more fuel efficiency, uh better communications and connectivity, uh, and has the ability to refuel both uh Navy and Air Force aircraft uh on the same mission, whereas the KC-135 needs to make adjustments on the ground before we do that.
00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:49.680
So really it would bring the 121st to the forefront of the Air Force's air refueling capability.
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:50.319
Thank you.
00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:51.200
Thank you for that.
00:18:51.279 --> 00:19:01.839
Uh one thing that I've learned going to the 121st several times is the unique partnerships that state National Guards have with countries overseas.
00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:02.400
Sure.
00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:04.480
Could you talk a little bit about that?
00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:05.039
It's really interesting.
00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:05.920
It is, it is.
00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:09.279
So you're you're talking about the the National Guard State Partnership Program.
00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:09.759
Yeah.
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:15.039
That came into being uh really after the end of the Cold War, uh early uh early 90s.
00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:24.400
Um the the US was looking for a way to build partnerships and and and and trust and communication and bonds with with some of the former Eastern European countries.
00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:28.079
I think it started out in the Baltic States and started expanding out to where it is now.
00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:38.720
There's um more than 107 partnerships, I think the number is around the world today between the the 54 National Guards, and we think the 50 states, the the territories, and the District of Columbia.
00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:41.039
Uh so a lot of partnerships around the world.
00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.519
Uh it's it's a very unique program.
00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:50.240
Uh one trust and cooperation are probably the two biggest outcomes from it.
00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:58.480
Um, Ohio specifically, we have been partnered with Hungary since 1993 and Serbia since 2006, I believe.
00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:01.359
Um we're looking to establish a third partnership right now.
00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.039
That's that's that's in the works.
00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:10.400
Um but it is from the National Guard's perspective, we are doing military to military engagements.
00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:19.519
Um think interoperability, think about working together to solve problems, to understanding each other's cultures and how to better communicate.
00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:23.279
Those are all desired uh effects and outcomes of the state partnership program.
00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:30.079
And it's all in line with the Department of War's objectives and the Department of State's objectives for the region or for that country.
00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:39.039
Um but from the state partnership program, something that's unique about it is actually afford some opportunities for kind of like a whole of society or whole of community approach to partnerships as well.
00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:51.200
So, you know, Ohio's partnerships with Hungary and Serbia have led, you know, from the National Guard to the Serbian or the Hungarian military partnership has led and enabled uh partnerships and engagements beyond the military.
00:20:51.359 --> 00:21:05.440
So we've we've set uh and open doors for um commerce, for education, for health engagements, just kind of a number of different different areas uh where again it's kind of more of a almost that that whole of society where it's growing into.
00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:14.559
Yeah, it sounds like it has a really uh lasting impact, and we're happy to have you on uh growing better together when whenever that third country uh is uh engaged.
00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.480
So we always kind of close with a couple traditional uh questions.
00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:25.440
So in your capacity as commander of the 121st, what's one thing that's really energizing you right now?
00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:27.839
Yeah and then what keeps you up at night?
00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:28.559
Yeah.
00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:33.200
Um from the energizing perspective, it's it's our people, really, first and foremost.
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:36.319
You know, the the challenges I was you know uh alluding to earlier.
00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:42.240
We are an organization that uh, you know, our our principal purpose is to generate and maintain combat readiness.
00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:48.880
You know, we're we're doing that in an environment of a high operations tempo just because of everything that the the military is is frequently asked to do.
00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:57.759
Uh and we're doing it with a predominantly part time force uh in an era where the the you know the in that constrained resource budgeting environment.
00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.759
And so it really requires us.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.519
To to take that different approach to thinking and how we're getting after stuff.
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.160
You know, it's you really can't do more with less.
00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:07.759
You have to do things differently.
00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:16.880
And so seeing the some of the greatness coming out of the wing is what really, really uh motivates me and excites me.
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:21.200
You know, there's been some things that have had Air Force-wide impact.
00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:25.519
So the KC-135, venerable, amazing, reliable airplane.
00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:28.720
Uh, you know, it was it was fielded in in the mid to late 1950s.
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.680
The youngest one is it was built in 1964.
00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:37.200
Um and you know, as with every aircraft, occasionally there's going to be some kind of a problem.
00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:41.680
You're going to have an emergency, you need an emergency procedure to safely recover from that problem.
00:22:41.839 --> 00:23:15.599
Uh and at the 121st, we saw the development of what's called the KC-135 Quick Reaction Handbook, or basically an in-flight emergency procedures update where we have taken the KC-135 emergency procedures and taken that out of like a PDF, uh, you know, some of its checklist, some of its paragraph, some of its bold, some of it's not, but a really uh basically a human factors nightmare of trying to navigate uh you know emergency procedures to successfully respond to problems and brought it into a modern era uh tool, even like the civilian airlines use.
00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:21.839
So it's all iPad, or well, it is tablet-based, not necessarily iPad, but tablet-based.
00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:26.079
Uh, and it's interactive where you know a pilot says, hey, this light's on and it will take them to the checklist.
00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:27.599
It has everything laid out sequentially.
00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:35.440
So this really represents the the most significant advance in KC-135 flight manual and emergency procedures since the aircraft was fielded.
00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:38.799
Really brings the KC-135 into a modern aviation era.
00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:44.319
Uh and that was the the that idea popped up and really came to fruition through the 121st.
00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:45.039
That's fantastic.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:53.039
And uh and we've had been helping AMC lead you know uh flight test and lead the implementation of that across the total force.
00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:57.279
So active duty KC-135s, Air Force Reserve, KC-135s, Air National Guard.
00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:14.720
We see things like uh augmented reality, virtual reality training in our maintenance and in our uh some of our allied support fields that that really creates um uh optimized and and and similar outcomes with training in a smaller time frame.
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:26.079
Um you know it you can you can look at an aircraft motor and do a 3D takeaway of it and find the various parts, and you can go through the pre-flight and maintenance procedures on a much quicker time.
00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:27.599
Uh and so seeing things like that.
00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:44.559
And then we're testing um all kinds of new stuff with with partnerships with the Air Force Research Lab and the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright Patterson, everything from engine cowlings designed to improve uh fuel efficiency to antenna and wire placement to increase communications capability and also fuel efficiency.
00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:46.079
So a number of different things.
00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:47.200
No doubt, no doubt.
00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:49.039
Thank you, uh, thank you for sharing that.
00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:51.680
Uh so it's 2050.
00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:53.200
We're we're in the future.
00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:53.759
Yes.
00:24:54.160 --> 00:25:00.720
What um where do you see the 121st air refueling weighing in 2050?
00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:01.279
Sure.
00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:10.559
Well, ideally we see them flying either the KC-46 or or whatever the the next generation air refueling platform is at the Air Force fields beyond the KC-46.
00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:21.359
Uh we see them, ideally we see the 121st continuing to be uh a key player in um in Ohio and in the nation and in the world that it has been.
00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:44.319
Uh I ideally we see the wing continue to develop you know some amazing patriots that are ready to serve, that we see the wing continue to develop uh the future enlisted and commissioned commissioned leaders of both the Ohio Air Guard uh and the United States Air Force, and and that we see again the 121st playing that critical role uh in safeguarding liberty and security for Ohio and the United States of America.
00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:48.480
I have one very easy, simple question right after this.
00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:48.960
Okay.
00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:51.279
When was the last time you were in the air?
00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:53.359
And when's the next time you're gonna be up at the air?
00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:59.599
Well, ironically, I tried to fly on Saturday, uh jet broke as they sometimes they do, so that that didn't quite work out.
00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:01.359
Uh I'm scheduled to fly tomorrow.
00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:02.799
Uh wait, today's Tuesday.
00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:04.079
I'm scheduled to fly Thursday.
00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:04.480
Nice.
00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:05.519
So we'll see how it goes.
00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:06.400
I'm jealous.
00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:11.759
Um Colonel, thank you so much for your leadership to our country, to our state, and to our region.
00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:15.839
It's been uh a true pleasure getting to know you uh over the past several years.
00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:17.200
Thank you so much for joining us today.
00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:17.680
Absolutely.
00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:18.799
Likewise, appreciate the invitation.
00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:19.920
It's always always great to see you.
00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.200
Likewise, Colonel.
00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:14.320
Welcome to Brought Better Together with a new show from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, where we connect with key leaders and explore the policy, partnerships, and opportunities to give in the future of Central Ohio.
00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:29.839
Welcome back to Growing Better Together.
00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:34.719
This podcast is about having a conversation with Central Ohio leaders.
00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:43.679
The first few episodes were with local government leaders or elected officials, but today's conversation is going to be a little bit different.
00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:52.479
What's great about Central Ohio is we have so many different assets, but one that's a really big one is our unique defense assets.
00:00:53.119 --> 00:01:03.520
You know, I've worked at Morpsey for several years, and in that work, I have the opportunity to work with local governments, members of the business community.
00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:07.840
But whenever I talk to folks, I mention how we do defense work.
00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:14.480
And it's always, you know, a little bit surprising to people when I uh I mention that work.
00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:30.159
We will talk about it a little bit more uh later, but we facilitate a group called the Central Ohio Defense Group, which is a coalition of about six different partners working together to elevate our unique defense assets.
00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:42.159
And through that work, I've really had the privilege of working with the 121st air refueling wing and have gotten to know Colonel Powers, who's the commander at that base.
00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.799
And I uh I welcome Colonel Powers to uh to Growing Better Together.
00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:48.640
Thank you so much for joining us today.
00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:49.760
Absolutely, thank you, Joe.
00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:50.719
It's a pleasure to be here.
00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:52.400
Yeah, really honored.
00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:56.879
Uh it's been uh it's been fun getting to know you uh over the years.
00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:58.400
So we'll just start off.
00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:03.359
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what attracted you to serving in the military.
00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:03.840
Sure.
00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:06.000
So you're you're talking about like going back like like historical.
00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:07.040
Yeah, yeah.
00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:07.439
Sure.
00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:09.680
Let's go back to the 20th century.
00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:11.039
Thank you.
00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:11.840
Thank you very much.
00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:18.159
So uh I grew up uh exposed to the Ohio, uh the Ohio Air National Guard specifically.
00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:20.000
Uh I'm a second generation guardsman.
00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:26.000
Uh my father was a pilot, uh and I just kind of got exposed to that uh early on, knew that I wanted uh to be a pilot.
00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:36.960
Um the night nice thing about the the National Guard, whether it be the the military at large or the reserve, you know, active duty military or the reserve component, uh they teach skills and trades, and there's college benefits.
00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:46.400
So, like many, uh leverage the military for college benefits to pay for a degree, uh, but once you're there, you really find that it's the people, uh, and that's why I'm still there.
00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:52.719
Everybody around, uh everybody around me, all the people that I get to work with every day, uh, both at Rick and Backer and across the Air National Guard.
00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:56.960
The Ohio National Guard is truly amazing people, uh, absolutely special people to work with.
00:02:57.280 --> 00:02:58.159
That's fantastic.
00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:03.680
So when you were younger, what decided you to go into the the Air National Guard specifically?
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:14.400
Yeah, so again, just kind of that exposure, uh, you know, I had an opportunity on on various guard weekends, and uh just a little bit of background, you know, the Ohio National Guard uh is comprised of the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.
00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:17.599
I'm in the Air National Guard, it's also a reserve component of the Air Force.
00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:21.199
But the National Guard is a part-time force predominantly.
00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:22.879
So most of our people do this.
00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:26.960
You'll hear sometimes maybe on the commercials the one week in a month, two weeks a year type commitment.
00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:32.240
And that's really a misnomer in today's day and age with the amount of readiness that we have to maintain.
00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:38.479
Uh, but that's the basic, the basic requirement that most people uh um uh understand when they when they hear reserve component.
00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:48.319
But but again, you know, um that early exposure coming out, uh learning about the National Guard, uh, you know, having a father that was involved, just you know, it's hey, that's something I want to do.
00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:56.879
You know, it's the the ability to serve, the ability to give back to others, to be uh a part of your community uh is very important, a very rewarding part of the job.
00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:04.000
And then you know the neat thing about the National Guard that a lot of people don't understand is that we are predominantly a community-based force as well.
00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:10.080
So, you know, in the state of Ohio, there are armories on the Army National Guard side spread all over the state.
00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:12.080
And there's a number here in Central Ohio.
00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:14.719
Uh the Air Guard tends to be clustered into larger organizations.
00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:16.480
There's four major wings in Ohio.
00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:21.439
Uh again, the 121st Airy Feeling Wing at Rickenbacker is the largest here in Columbus.
00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:31.680
Uh, but there's also wings in Toledo, Mansfield, and Springfield, and then we have some geographically separated units in the Port Clinton, the uh uh the Zanesville, and the Blue Ash areas.
00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:35.279
So it's kind of a large footprint, but it's that spread out force.
00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:37.120
So you see it's all across the state.
00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:41.279
Uh and as I mentioned, the Army Guard armories, they're not in every county, but they're in quite a few.
00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:41.759
Right.
00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:47.759
Uh so really out there, rather than having one large major base, they're just kind of spread across the communities that we live and we serve in.
00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:49.439
So it's an interesting, unique thing about the National Guard.
00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:50.480
Yeah, no, thank you.
00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:51.759
Uh thank you for sharing that.
00:04:51.920 --> 00:05:02.720
So a lot of Morpsey staff and a lot of community leaders might know about the 121st air refueling wing at Reckenbacker, but a lot of listeners don't.
00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:06.160
So what is it, what's and what's the mission?
00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:06.720
Sure.
00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:11.040
So the 121st air refueling wing is comprised of a a little over 1200.
00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:12.000
The number varies a little bit.
00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:22.560
Right now it's about 1,211 uh military and civilian airmen who operate 12 KC-135R stratotankers, and that's the backbone of the United States Air Force's air refueling capability.
00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:38.000
So our our major purpose uh is to provide that uh air refueling capability, refueling other aircraft in flight and agile combat supports, all those things you need to sustain aircraft, uh to enable people uh and to project power forward.
00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:41.279
All of that wrapped up in that is the mission of the 121st.
00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:45.839
And kind of sum it up by our our mission statement is prepare, deter, execute.
00:05:46.000 --> 00:06:13.600
And really what that means is that we we prepare ready, resilient airmen who are capable of, who stand ready to answer the call at a moment's notice, whether it's providing uh disaster response support to civil authorities in times of domestic emergencies or deterring our potential adversaries that might want to jeopardize our American ideals, uh, or if deterrence fails, on order we will execute our core airy feeling, those agile combat support capabilities to deliver that combat air power anywhere, anytime that our nation needs.
00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:22.639
Could you just provide like a maybe a recent example when uh folks at the 121st were called to help with a national or uh global issue?
00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:29.519
Yeah, I can I can actually talk to both of those, both uh, you know, the uh here at home Ohioans helping Ohioans, Ohioans helping North Carolinians.
00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:39.759
Um, you know, just going back a few years, uh the the National Guard, both the Air and the Army National Guard in Ohio, and really all of the National Guards across the United States were heavily tasked during the COVID epidemic.
00:06:40.000 --> 00:07:00.319
Everything from enabling and supporting uh and augmenting hospital staff to uh assisting in jails to uh distributing food through area food banks uh to helping uh um health agencies administer COVID vaccines, you name it, the the National Guard was out across the communities providing support.
00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:05.600
That's probably the largest mobilization of the National Guard since World War II was COVID response.
00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:14.319
Shortly after COVID, we we saw Air National Guards, specifically some 121st airy-filling members, uh helping out in the Indian Lake region, Logan County region after the tornadoes.
00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:20.800
So right there, that's that Ohioans helping Ohioans, kind of one of our bread and butter missions, bread and butter purposes.
00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:34.560
Uh and then another uh more recent example is uh you know Hurricane Helene came uh up the up the coast uh in in late 2024, fall of 2024, and had particularly devastating flooding in the North Carolina region, especially the mountain areas.
00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:44.800
Uh and we deployed our fatality search and recovery team to help local authorities in North Carolina conduct search and rescue operations in the immediate aftermath of that that hurricane passing through.
00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:51.360
Uh and that's a story that I like to highlight that that that team is almost entirely uh drill staff's guardsmen or those part-timers.
00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:59.759
Uh, and from when you know Ohio got the call from North Carolina that we need help, uh, they were boots on ground supporting North Carolina authorities in less than 30 hours.
00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:02.399
And so you think about that, you know, that's us calling them at home.
00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:10.800
Yeah, you know, saying, hey, we need you to come in, get your gear ready, get marshaled, and drive your your vehicle's convoy down to North Carolina to get something operating in just that short amount of time.
00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:16.879
I mean true, true uh demonstration of the citizen soldier, citizen airman nature of the National Guard.
00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:19.279
Yeah, thank you so much for your leadership and service.
00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:25.360
Uh I know um with the tornadoes last year, a lot of folks in our community were deeply impacted by that.
00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:26.160
So thank you.
00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:30.480
Um so you're the commander of the 121st era and wing.
00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:32.639
What does that entail?
00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:43.519
Well, uh, you know, really my job is to is to provide resources, remove obstacles, give people the the time and the space to do great things and then get out of the way.
00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:43.759
Yeah.
00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:48.720
You know, it's uh it is it is you know help helping build that common vision, that common purpose for the organization.
00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:52.240
So when folks say lead, follow, and get out of the way, you wish to find I get out of the way.
00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:53.120
You can do all of those.
00:08:54.799 --> 00:09:00.320
No, but it's it's really most importantly is getting resources that our airmen need to do their job.
00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:07.039
You know, as not unique to the 121st, not unique to even the military, you know, we are in a busy time.
00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:17.039
Um, you know, uh global uh global trends, global changes are our you know continuing in just general resource-constrained environment that we're in today.
00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:27.120
Uh you know, we need to find new and innovative ways to do things, uh, and that's been kind of a mantra for a while now, but but to really be creative on how we get after the problem sets and the challenges today.
00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:40.240
So, really, my role as a leader is to kind of set the conditions to allow the that innovation to incubate and grow uh and and and ensure that our people have everything they need to do the the jobs when they are and they're ready to do their jobs uh when they're called upon.
00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:41.919
Thank you for that.
00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.639
Uh it doesn't sound like there's a lot of typical days.
00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:46.080
Is there a lot?
00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:50.399
As a matter of fact, yeah, there uh there are really no typical days.
00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:52.000
Every day's a little bit different.
00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:55.360
Um our wing is a heavily, heavily engaged wing.
00:09:55.519 --> 00:10:02.639
Um you know, we have we support uh we deploy regularly on uh uh our federal mission overseas.
00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:09.279
Uh we had a large team uh deploy uh over um the the October to March time frame.
00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:13.840
It was part of our regular recurring uh deployment cycle for that agile combat support.
00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:25.519
So think everybody that protects the base, provides communications infrastructure, firefighting, um, logistics support, all of that and more is wrapped up in that agile combat support capability.
00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:30.000
And so we had a number of people, a large contingent, about 10% of the wing, out for six months.
00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:33.120
Uh and we really saw them go to different spots around the world.
00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:40.240
We had teams in the in the Indo-Pacific region, we had teams in the European Command region, we had teams in the Central Command region.
00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:44.879
Uh so really uh very geographically diverse application of our missions.
00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:58.159
And then more recently, we deployed our our aviation and maintenance package consisting of the uh the KC-135s themselves and uh air crew and maintainers to the Indo-Pacific region as part of our standard rotational cycle there.
00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:03.759
And so we really see a lot of deployments, a lot of engagement from the wing in our federal missions.
00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:18.799
Uh, and then we have our Title 32 organized train and equip missions that we do to build that combat readiness and to prepare people to be ready to go out the door at a moment's notice again for that domestic emergency or domestic response support to uh the our overseas combat missions.
00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:27.519
So the 121st Air Refueling Wing is an asset because of all the services you provide to the state and the country and the world for that matter.
00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:37.759
Um but also from a jobs perspective, just the the broader defense community in central Ohio, there's 8,000 jobs that impact uh the region.
00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:49.919
Um that's part of the reason I alluded to earlier, the Central Ohio Defense Group, where we really try to get communities working together to see how we can be an asset to the defense installations here in Central Ohio.
00:11:50.159 --> 00:12:03.039
Could you elaborate a little bit about the partnership of the Central Ohio Defense Group in your capacity as commander of the 121st Air Rufing Wing, and then maybe talk a little bit about the association of defense communities?
00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:04.240
Sure, sure.
00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:18.559
So the programs you're talking about are kind of under uh some broader umbrellas of the Department of War's Office of Local Defense, Community Cooperation and the Air Force's uh community partnerships uh uh divisions within within the services.
00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:29.759
Uh and they are really looking for ways that that military organizations can build relationships with with surrounding uh governmental and in some instances non-governmental entities.
00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:36.799
Uh to really, as you mentioned earlier, you know, we're we're in an environment where we we have to be creative and approach things differently.
00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:42.240
Uh and maybe there's a way that we can pool our resources, our pool our buying power for lack of a better term.
00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:46.720
You know, we have very similar issues uh in terms of general training needs.
00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:50.639
Uh, I think skills training, you know, like like vehicle maintenance or engine maintenance.
00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.960
You know, there's a lot of things that carry over to the civilian world for the military world.
00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:57.120
Um everybody needs roads repaved.
00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:07.440
And so there's a number of areas where we can work together to leverage our buying power that when we buy at scale, uh it reduces the unit cost for multiple entities out there.
00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:09.759
Uh and that's just that's an example of that.
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:18.240
Um you know, mentioning just the the broader defense community, we're really grateful to enjoy wonderful support from the central Ohio community specifically.
00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:25.120
Um, we've had a long-standing relationship with the Columbus Regional Airport Authority and several of the entities around.
00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:43.039
Uh, and we've been able to help those entities uh get funds through federal programs like the Franklin County Engineers Office recently got uh build grant, and I'm gonna butcher the Alam Creek Drive, the Alum Creek Improvement Corridor, which connects you know Rickenbacker to 270.
00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:50.320
And that supports literally thousands of military personnel, most of them part-time, that are stationed based at Rickenbacker.
00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.360
Uh and it just there's there's defense value in that.
00:13:53.679 --> 00:14:17.919
Uh similarly, the Columbus Regional Airport Authority uh recently, about two years ago now, uh was awarded a nearly$9 million grant through the Defense Community Infrastructure Program to rehabilitate uh the inside runway uh at Rickenbacker, which ordinarily would, you know, from an FAA funding standpoint doesn't meet the threshold because of the number of sorties flying from Rickenbacker, but it's truly a very strategic asset for the military and for the 121st.
00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:26.399
And so for us to be able to work together to get that, to keep that capability uh viable uh for our region is incredibly important.
00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:33.919
It's really helpful for us as well because we facilitated the defense group for I'd say about eight or nine years now.
00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:37.679
And Steve Tugan chairs that uh that initiative.
00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:57.679
But when we have our regional policy roundtable, which is local government leaders focusing on public policy issues, we actually just had the meeting today, is we always have a defense update on what's going on uh at the Defense Supply Center of Columbus, what's happening at the 121st Air Refueling Wing, what DCP projects do we need to advocate on.
00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:07.279
So it's it's really helpful to convene and learn from you, but also we can help report out on what's going on and what are the priorities in the region.
00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:10.559
So it's a it's just a really, really uh important tool.
00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:16.559
Speaking of important tools, uh, one thing is there's an intergovernmental support agreement.
00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:18.639
The acronym is uh an IGSA.
00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:19.120
Yes.
00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:33.120
And this is something we've been looking into here in the region as a potential uh tool in regards to reducing costs with the Department of War, uh, but also generating revenue in Central Ohio.
00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:37.360
Uh, could you tell us a little bit about that tool and how it could benefit the region?
00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:38.240
Sure, sure.
00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:51.440
So uh from my understanding, my perspective, the the intergovernmental support agreement is essentially a non-traditional contracting mechanism where there's an established relationship between the military entity and this surrounding governmental body.
00:15:51.519 --> 00:16:08.480
And again, like I was alluding to earlier, where there's those shared those shared uh challenges or goals that we each need to do, whether it be training or procuring a particular thing, or again, that that infrastructure improvement modernization, uh we all have uh similar needs in that way.
00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:26.960
So if there that intergovernmental intergovernmental support agreement is a mechanism by which the military can leverage essentially the contracting mechanism of that surrounding governmental entity, or um in some instances, even that you know some governmental entities may have their own roads departments or something like that.
00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:38.879
Is there a way that that that type of service could be provided to the military at a at a more reasonable or or or lower cost than through the traditional uh contracting mechanism?
00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:46.559
And the idea is that that these build resilience both at in in the military community but also in the surrounding the surrounding community as well.
00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:46.960
Yeah.
00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:48.799
Well, thank you for for sharing that.
00:16:48.879 --> 00:17:01.840
What's one thing that's always interesting about talking to folks in the military, whether it's you or other folks in the Central Holly Defense Group, is planners and working at Morpsey and working with the state or federal government, there are so many acronyms.
00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:04.799
Go to a defense-related meeting.
00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:05.359
Oh, yes.
00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:08.400
I I mean I it so much of it goes over my head.
00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:10.319
Just sidebar here.
00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:15.200
How long does it take to understand the language of defense?
00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:21.119
Uh well, Joe, you you probably need a couple of years to gain fluency, but it's uh it's a dynamic and ever-evolving language.
00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:27.599
And uh at some point, you when you realize that there are acronyms within acronyms, uh, you get to that at PhD level.
00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:28.319
Yeah, yeah.
00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:33.519
I am I am not at the PhD, I'm like pre-K level when it comes to some of those uh defense acronyms.
00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:43.119
Um so we talked about the KC-135s, but there's also a unique opportunity for the 121st air refueling wing with the uh KC-46s.
00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:43.599
Yes.
00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:48.079
Could you uh elaborate on that opportunity and the impact it would have on the region?
00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:48.960
Sure, sure.
00:17:49.119 --> 00:18:03.519
So the the uh the the Air Force right now is in the uh in the midst or in in uh working towards modernizing, really recapitalizing the KC-135, which is, I mentioned earlier, it is the principal air fueling asset in the United States Air Force.
00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:13.039
It is the backbone of our air refueling capability, and air refueling really gives the Air Force and the US military writ-large its global uh capability to respond quickly.
00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:15.599
You can't really do anything without without air refueling.
00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:23.119
Uh the KC-46 for us uh would bring us to the forefront of the Air Force's air refueling capability.
00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:43.279
Um it is uh based on the the Boeing 7.6 platform, uh it has uh far more fuel efficiency, uh better communications and connectivity, uh, and has the ability to refuel both uh Navy and Air Force aircraft uh on the same mission, whereas the KC-135 needs to make adjustments on the ground before we do that.
00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:49.680
So really it would bring the 121st to the forefront of the Air Force's air refueling capability.
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:50.319
Thank you.
00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:51.200
Thank you for that.
00:18:51.279 --> 00:19:01.839
Uh one thing that I've learned going to the 121st several times is the unique partnerships that state National Guards have with countries overseas.
00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:02.400
Sure.
00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:04.480
Could you talk a little bit about that?
00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:05.039
It's really interesting.
00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:05.920
It is, it is.
00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:09.279
So you're you're talking about the the National Guard State Partnership Program.
00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:09.759
Yeah.
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:15.039
That came into being uh really after the end of the Cold War, uh early uh early 90s.
00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:24.400
Um the the US was looking for a way to build partnerships and and and and trust and communication and bonds with with some of the former Eastern European countries.
00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:28.079
I think it started out in the Baltic States and started expanding out to where it is now.
00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:38.720
There's um more than 107 partnerships, I think the number is around the world today between the the 54 National Guards, and we think the 50 states, the the territories, and the District of Columbia.
00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:41.039
Uh so a lot of partnerships around the world.
00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.519
Uh it's it's a very unique program.
00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:50.240
Uh one trust and cooperation are probably the two biggest outcomes from it.
00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:58.480
Um, Ohio specifically, we have been partnered with Hungary since 1993 and Serbia since 2006, I believe.
00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:01.359
Um we're looking to establish a third partnership right now.
00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.039
That's that's that's in the works.
00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:10.400
Um but it is from the National Guard's perspective, we are doing military to military engagements.
00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:19.519
Um think interoperability, think about working together to solve problems, to understanding each other's cultures and how to better communicate.
00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:23.279
Those are all desired uh effects and outcomes of the state partnership program.
00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:30.079
And it's all in line with the Department of War's objectives and the Department of State's objectives for the region or for that country.
00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:39.039
Um but from the state partnership program, something that's unique about it is actually afford some opportunities for kind of like a whole of society or whole of community approach to partnerships as well.
00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:51.200
So, you know, Ohio's partnerships with Hungary and Serbia have led, you know, from the National Guard to the Serbian or the Hungarian military partnership has led and enabled uh partnerships and engagements beyond the military.
00:20:51.359 --> 00:21:05.440
So we've we've set uh and open doors for um commerce, for education, for health engagements, just kind of a number of different different areas uh where again it's kind of more of a almost that that whole of society where it's growing into.
00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:14.559
Yeah, it sounds like it has a really uh lasting impact, and we're happy to have you on uh growing better together when whenever that third country uh is uh engaged.
00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.480
So we always kind of close with a couple traditional uh questions.
00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:25.440
So in your capacity as commander of the 121st, what's one thing that's really energizing you right now?
00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:27.839
Yeah and then what keeps you up at night?
00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:28.559
Yeah.
00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:33.200
Um from the energizing perspective, it's it's our people, really, first and foremost.
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:36.319
You know, the the challenges I was you know uh alluding to earlier.
00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:42.240
We are an organization that uh, you know, our our principal purpose is to generate and maintain combat readiness.
00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:48.880
You know, we're we're doing that in an environment of a high operations tempo just because of everything that the the military is is frequently asked to do.
00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:57.759
Uh and we're doing it with a predominantly part time force uh in an era where the the you know the in that constrained resource budgeting environment.
00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.759
And so it really requires us.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.519
To to take that different approach to thinking and how we're getting after stuff.
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.160
You know, it's you really can't do more with less.
00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:07.759
You have to do things differently.
00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:16.880
And so seeing the some of the greatness coming out of the wing is what really, really uh motivates me and excites me.
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:21.200
You know, there's been some things that have had Air Force-wide impact.
00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:25.519
So the KC-135, venerable, amazing, reliable airplane.
00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:28.720
Uh, you know, it was it was fielded in in the mid to late 1950s.
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.680
The youngest one is it was built in 1964.
00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:37.200
Um and you know, as with every aircraft, occasionally there's going to be some kind of a problem.
00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:41.680
You're going to have an emergency, you need an emergency procedure to safely recover from that problem.
00:22:41.839 --> 00:23:15.599
Uh and at the 121st, we saw the development of what's called the KC-135 Quick Reaction Handbook, or basically an in-flight emergency procedures update where we have taken the KC-135 emergency procedures and taken that out of like a PDF, uh, you know, some of its checklist, some of its paragraph, some of its bold, some of it's not, but a really uh basically a human factors nightmare of trying to navigate uh you know emergency procedures to successfully respond to problems and brought it into a modern era uh tool, even like the civilian airlines use.
00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:21.839
So it's all iPad, or well, it is tablet-based, not necessarily iPad, but tablet-based.
00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:26.079
Uh, and it's interactive where you know a pilot says, hey, this light's on and it will take them to the checklist.
00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:27.599
It has everything laid out sequentially.
00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:35.440
So this really represents the the most significant advance in KC-135 flight manual and emergency procedures since the aircraft was fielded.
00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:38.799
Really brings the KC-135 into a modern aviation era.
00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:44.319
Uh and that was the the that idea popped up and really came to fruition through the 121st.
00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:45.039
That's fantastic.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:53.039
And uh and we've had been helping AMC lead you know uh flight test and lead the implementation of that across the total force.
00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:57.279
So active duty KC-135s, Air Force Reserve, KC-135s, Air National Guard.
00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:14.720
We see things like uh augmented reality, virtual reality training in our maintenance and in our uh some of our allied support fields that that really creates um uh optimized and and and similar outcomes with training in a smaller time frame.
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:26.079
Um you know it you can you can look at an aircraft motor and do a 3D takeaway of it and find the various parts, and you can go through the pre-flight and maintenance procedures on a much quicker time.
00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:27.599
Uh and so seeing things like that.
00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:44.559
And then we're testing um all kinds of new stuff with with partnerships with the Air Force Research Lab and the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright Patterson, everything from engine cowlings designed to improve uh fuel efficiency to antenna and wire placement to increase communications capability and also fuel efficiency.
00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:46.079
So a number of different things.
00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:47.200
No doubt, no doubt.
00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:49.039
Thank you, uh, thank you for sharing that.
00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:51.680
Uh so it's 2050.
00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:53.200
We're we're in the future.
00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:53.759
Yes.
00:24:54.160 --> 00:25:00.720
What um where do you see the 121st air refueling weighing in 2050?
00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:01.279
Sure.
00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:10.559
Well, ideally we see them flying either the KC-46 or or whatever the the next generation air refueling platform is at the Air Force fields beyond the KC-46.
00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:21.359
Uh we see them, ideally we see the 121st continuing to be uh a key player in um in Ohio and in the nation and in the world that it has been.
00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:44.319
Uh I ideally we see the wing continue to develop you know some amazing patriots that are ready to serve, that we see the wing continue to develop uh the future enlisted and commissioned commissioned leaders of both the Ohio Air Guard uh and the United States Air Force, and and that we see again the 121st playing that critical role uh in safeguarding liberty and security for Ohio and the United States of America.
00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:48.480
I have one very easy, simple question right after this.
00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:48.960
Okay.
00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:51.279
When was the last time you were in the air?
00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:53.359
And when's the next time you're gonna be up at the air?
00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:59.599
Well, ironically, I tried to fly on Saturday, uh jet broke as they sometimes they do, so that that didn't quite work out.
00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:01.359
Uh I'm scheduled to fly tomorrow.
00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:02.799
Uh wait, today's Tuesday.
00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:04.079
I'm scheduled to fly Thursday.
00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:04.480
Nice.
00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:05.519
So we'll see how it goes.
00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:06.400
I'm jealous.
00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:11.759
Um Colonel, thank you so much for your leadership to our country, to our state, and to our region.
00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:15.839
It's been uh a true pleasure getting to know you uh over the past several years.
00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:17.200
Thank you so much for joining us today.
00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:17.680
Absolutely.
00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:18.799
Likewise, appreciate the invitation.
00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:19.920
It's always always great to see you.
00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.200
Likewise, Colonel.
