Wing leadership is behind the environment. We need to be too Published May 18, 2010 By Bob Fant 21st Civil Engineer Squadron PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- First, congrats to Team Pete for completing a successful Environmental and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment and Management Plan review in February conducted by Headquarters Air Force Space Command. Team Pete completely validated our culture of compliance; we should all give ourselves a pat on the back. Besides celebrating inspection results, we also recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22. Many readers may not remember the origins of Earth Day, so allow me to share some history: In 1969, the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio, caught fire due to the toxic waste pollution in the river. This and other spots suffering from high levels of pollution resulted in President Nixon signing the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act of 1972. Leadership at all levels was needed to clean up our polluted country then and, even though our country is much cleaner, leadership is needed today. Senior leader involvement and emphasis provided the drive behind our stellar ESOHCAMP performance and our celebration of Earth Day. The emphasis by senior leadership is captured best by the 21st Space environmental policy recently signed by Col. Jim Jennings, 21st Space Wing vice commander, and chairman of our Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health Council. Our environmental policy serves as the cornerstone of our commitment to the environment and the 21st SW mission which it enables. One of the best things of being assigned to the 21st SW is location. You could be assigned near the Rocky Mountains, the gigantic and environmentally stunning state of Alaska, or the Atlantic coast on Cape Cod to name a few. These are some of the most environmentally sensitive spots in the world, and it's our job to take care of them as we take defend the United States and our allies. How we treat the environment as individuals and as members of the Air Force can be improved. The wing environmental policy calls for continuous improvement. Improvement can happen as a result of individuals choosing to recycle all that can be recycled, or good ideas for good programs being put forward from base level, the major command, or even the Air Force at large. Col. Stephen N. Whiting, 21st SW commander, calls us to a "culture of compliance," to make compliance with existing environmental laws and regulations part of our everyday life without hesitation. We should be able to take compliance for granted, and for the most part we do. However, to go above and beyond compliance, environmental concerns must be built into all our policies, programs and missions. In short we must ask the environmental question: How does this policy, program or mission affect the environment? How can we conserve our natural and manmade resources; how can we bring our mission partners and off base neighbors into our environmental stewardship efforts; and is our proposed policy, program or mission sustainable? The 21st SW environmental policy provides for continuous improvement, waste reduction, resource conservation, a culture of compliance, and the promise of the future. Our wing leadership is behind the environment so, we need to be too.