Base greets honorary leaders

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Charles Rivezzo
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  With a C-17 Globemaster III draped as the backdrop to the evening's festivities, Travis senior leaders welcomed 35 honorary commanders and bid farewell to 34 others during an HCC induction ceremony March 10.

The Honorary Commanders Program is an Air Force-wide initiative allowing professionals from a variety of areas to partner with individual commanders to strengthen and foster the relationship between Travis AFB and the local community.

The program focuses on enhancing civic appreciation of the need and value of the Air Force, maximizing opportunities to share the Air Force story and communicating that the Air Force and sister service leaders share mutual interests, concerns and challenges with civilian stakeholders.

Travis senior leadership views the HCC program as the fabric of the installation's community relations endeavors, recognizing that the relationship between Travis and the local community serves as the foundation of what allows the base to continue to execute its worldwide mission.

Col. Corwin Pauly, 60th Air Mobility Wing vice commander and host for the evening's festivities, echoed those sentiments during his opening remarks.

"We cannot accomplish our mission without our mission partners outside the fence line," he said. "In your position as an honorary commander, we want you to reach out and get to know the family you are now a part of. Get to know the young Airmen and the stories of your new organization and share those experiences with fellow members of the community."

As part of the official portion of the ceremony, incoming honorary commanders were pinned by their respective commanders and certificates were presented to the honorary commanders who completed their two-year tenure.

The ceremony concluded with each of the new inductees raising their right hand and reciting an oath, officially inducting them into the program.

Travis hosts multiple honorary commander events throughout the year to include an introductory "boot camp" as well as in-depth tours of each group organization on base, further educating key community leaders about the various missions of the base.

"We have some great partners and neighbors directly outside the fence line," Pauly said in his closing remarks. "We cannot succeed without developing our relationships."