Civic leaders experience A Day at Keesler

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.-- The 81st Training Wing held A Day at Keesler, showcasing the wing’s mission and developing projects to local civic leaders and Mississippi congressional staff, Dec. 9.

Leaders toured the 81st Training Group, 81st Medical Group and site of the future Mississippi Gulf Coast Cyber Center to gain a visual of on-going and future projects at Keesler.

“This is a partnership event where we allow our civic and congressional partners to see how the base is moving forward,” said Brian Thompson, 81st TRW director of staff. “This allows them to see the efforts and not just read about them and try to envision what we are doing here.”

The construction of the Division Street Gate was a joint project between Keesler and the City of Biloxi. The new gate allowed Keesler to close two other gates to improve safety and traffic flow for the local community and base populace.

“This event is about increasing the productivity of conversations throughout the year by setting a day aside for civic leaders to physically see what we have done and what we plan to do in the future,” said Col. Chad Gemeinhardt, 81st Mission Support Group commander. “If leaders can see and walk through our facilities, they'll have a better idea of what is going on and enable better decision making.”

A Day at Keesler provided the opportunity to show the progress of the gate and demonstrate how Keesler and the community will continue to improve the project to grow together.

As the second largest training installation in Air Education and Training Command, Keesler also hosts the Air and Space Force’s initial skills training for electronics and cyber operations. The upcoming Mississippi Cyber Technology center will enhance Keesler cybersecurity training while serving as a statewide ecosystem to address cybersecurity issues and workforce needs in the state and our nation.

The mutually beneficial project will meet cybersecurity training needs at Keesler, graduating over 6,000 students per year and attracting innovative cyber and advanced technology industries to the local area.

“If we articulate where we are going, it helps create a shared vision that allows us to continue down that path and improve our training pipeline,” said Gemeinhardt. “It only betters our mission if we partner with our congressional state as we move forward to be as efficient and resilient as possible.”