Eglin commander reflects on first year

  • Published
  • By Samuel King Jr.
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  July 8 marked Col. Sal Nodjomian's one-year anniversary since he took the 96th Air Base Wing guidon as commander and accepted the challenge of providing support to the Air Force's largest base.

"This command opportunity has exceeded even my greatest expectations," he said about his first year of command. "Professionally, I'm extremely proud of what this wing has accomplished both here and downrange. Personally, my family and I have been warmly embraced by the community. We were instantly welcomed and treated like life-long members of the Emerald Coast."

A significant challenge the colonel inherited was the requirement to fulfill the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission changes by Sept. 15. The two largest initiatives under BRAC were the beddown of the Joint Strike Fighter and 7th Special Forces Group.

"These initiatives were massive undertakings with so many logistical challenges," he said. "It's so much more than just brick and mortar construction. It's our communicators ensuring connectivity, our medics adjusting procedures to meet soldiers' needs, our defenders protecting new assets and a host of others working to seamlessly integrate our new partners into Team Eglin. The 96th was asked to flex to respond to these new needs and demands and our people figured out how to meet each and every challenge."

Amid the vast BRAC changes taking place, in October 2010, the colonel faced drastic budget cuts and tough decisions to meet these new goals.

"The budget reductions forced us to re-evaluate many of our actions and we discovered we had a lot of areas where we could be more efficient," he said. "Through teamwork, open dialogue and extremely creative thinking, we've managed to make it through this year with very little drop in service. I'm proud to say that throughout all of this, the members of the 96th maintained a tremendously positive 'can-do' attitude."

While figuring out how to support two new missions and trim the budget, the colonel also experienced first-hand the immensity of the current mission sets already at Eglin.

"I've really only begun to grasp the enormity of this base and its major organizations," he said. "I feel like I've got a handle on most of it, but I'll probably only fully understand it all as I'm handing off the guidon to my successor and saying 'good luck.'"

As 2010 ended and the new year came in, Nodjomian saw just how good a team he commanded when the major command, Air Force and DOD level awards began piling up.

"I lost count after 120," he joked. "What does Eglin do well? Based on how we've been recognized, I'd say, everything...and we have the awards to prove it."

Although Nodjomian said he knows he's in charge of a first-rate organization, there is always room for improvement and communication is at the top of the colonel's list.

"The complexity of this base requires us to communicate continuously across many levels," he said. "We need to know what the associate units are doing and they need to know what we're doing. Sometimes, we operate at such a hectic and frantic pace we tend to forget there are consequences to our decisions that could have unintended effects on other units. We have to maintain open and frequent dialogue to keep this from happening. My philosophy is 'you can never over-communicate.'"

Another area that concerns Col Nodjomian is the tragedies the wing has endured.

"Every member of Team Eglin is critical to our success and is part of our extended family; the losses we've suffered, both in combat and here at home, leave a gaping hole in our hearts," said the colonel. "We need to continue refining the wingman concept and do everything in our power to ensure a safe and healthy environment."

As he starts year two of his command, Nodjomian has a brand new left and right hand in new vice commander Col. Tony Douglas and command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Ben Caro.

"I'd really like to thank Col. (Bill) Porter and Chief (Master Sgt. Tom) Westermeyer for being phenomenal partners through my first year. We couldn't have accomplished what we did without their help," he said. "However, the timing couldn't be better to bring the new guys in. They offer a fresh perspective, can evaluate the changes we made, and provide honest and candid feedback on what we've done or plan to do. They will also be the bridge for my successor."

The colonel said he sees continued growth for Eglin beyond his tenure and more improvements like housing privatization beginning during the next year.

"Eglin has an extremely bright future," he said. "We will continue to integrate research, developmental and operational test, training and many other significant mission sets at Eglin. Our careful and deliberate plans and our incredible working relationship with the local communities will help foster this growth."