SJAFB commander talks employment and education
By Melinda Harrell
Published in News on September 14, 2016 10:04 AM
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Col. Christopher Sage, commander of 4th Fighter Wing, speaks in his office at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base on Friday. Sage says that a collaboration between the base and local civic leaders is a "win-win" for the surrounding community and the airmen and their families.
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Sage speaks about base operations from the flight tower that overlooks much of Wayne County at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
Col. Christopher Sage, 4th Fighter Wing commander, took the helm of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in July and with that job, he also became one of the driving leaders in Goldsboro and Wayne County.
From furthering local education initiatives to pumping the economy with a skilled and educated workforce, Sage says, the base has plenty to offer the surrounding community, and he looks forward to seeing that embraced by civic leaders and elected officials alike.
Sage said 80 percent of the nearly 6,000 airmen that are stationed at Seymour Johnson live off-base, which means a strong relationship between the community and base leadership is a necessity.
"The airmen of Seymour Johnson are the neighbors, the friends, the classmates of local residents," Sage said.
"We are local residents."
The economic impact that Seymour Johnson Air Force Base has on the surrounding economy is astronomical, amounting to around $620 million, which includes various base contracts, employment and goods and services exchanges among airmen.
The economic facet is where Sage is planning to rebalance some of the focus. He wants to see more military spouses employed in the surrounding community.
"An untapped area that I am focused on working closer with our local civic leaders is employment for our military spouses," he said.
"Once again, it is a team effort because when we have surveyed the amount of untapped expertise and education that our spouses have, it's impressive -- masters-level degrees, Ph.D.-level degrees, skill sets that are going untapped due to the battle rhythm that our families endure when they are moving from assignment to assignment every few years."
The initiative is not without teeth, Sage said, with the utilization of Facebook as way to connect spouses with available jobs as well as a planned job fair on base in October, the employment information is making a reach on to the base.
There is also an established entrepreneur club on base that is dedicated to supporting aspiring business owners.
And though the efforts are a push in the right direction, Sage says a collaborative initiative between the base and community is important.
"There is a concerted effort by the civic leaders and by the chamber of commerce leaders to figure out smarter ways to incorporate the spouses into it," he said.
That effort has materialized in the Creative Give Back grant awarded to the Wayne County Development Alliance in the amount of $25,000 to develop strategies to get military spouses, military dependents, exiting members and retirees connected to the local employment opportunities.
The county has requested assistance with coordinating the efforts of various organizations to create a model directed at employer hiring practices.
"Sometimes employers are hesitant to hire our spouses, but in the changing economy, where transient employees are more common, I think employers are finally realizing they can harness the skills of more transient workers and still benefit their business," he said.
"And we are convinced that we have a lot to offer with our spouses. That also helps strengthen our bonds between the city, the county and the base. It is not a jobs program, it is what we can offer to help the local economy flourish. It is easy to talk about, but you have to come up with a solid plan that connects quality, educated skilled spouses to the right job."
He also said a perfect example of how successful a well-developed relationship between the local community and the base works would be with the commissioners' approval to fund the construction of the new Meadow Lane Elementary School facility as well as other school capital projects throughout the county.
The majority of the $28.2 million funding agreement will go to the construction of a new Meadow Lane Elementary School on Ash Street.
The school is where many children of airmen attend and the facility was a point of major concern for those base families.
The remaining funds will go to benefit different schools in the county however, such as $4.6 million for 22 additional classrooms at Fremont STARS Elementary School; $3.2 million for a new gym and six classrooms at Southern Wayne High School; and $400,000 to add air conditioning at Rosewood Middle School gym.
"Education is a great example," he said.
"The courage that the county commissioners, along with the help of the city officials, the courage they showed when they approved the $29 million initiative to improve the schools is truly a win-win for all the citizens of Wayne County, both on base and off base. Building the new Meadow Lane Elementary School is a perfect example of that. We are all in the same boat."
Sage said he will continue that trajectory in the arena of education, saying that the number one concern when many airmen are stationed somewhere is the condition of the school system in the area as well as the vibrancy of the local economy.