F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- There isn't a day that goes by that I don't hear the phrase "Gee, you must be busy." This is the response I get when I tell customers I work in the Wing Protocol Office. As a member of our Protocol Team, we advise and guide Col. Greg Tims, 90th Missile Wing commander, on all aspects of visits, conferences, tours and social functions.

One of the benefits of my job is that I see an overall picture of the many diversified missions here. In the past year, let me say without reservation; everyone on this base is incredibly busy!

Yes, Wing Protocol has a tremendous responsibility; but allow me to tell you about the incredibly busy workcenters I've accompanied our distinguished visitors to for their visits in the past year. I had no idea how incredibly busy these work centers are, and I feel they sometimes make our protocol workload pale in comparison.

One of the first work centers that defines busy is the 90th Logistics Readiness Squadron Vehicle Dispatch; while we are requesting the DV Surrey or a couple of "U-Drive-its," vehicle dispatch not only accommodates us with a smile, they are sending the 90th Operations Group and 90th Security Forces Group vehicles to the field on a daily basis. At the same time, they may be preparing for a convoy movement, or lining up more than 50 vehicles for the Nuclear Surety Inspection team.

Another work center that impresses me is our lodging team. From our initial reservation request to actual DV check-in, the lodging team provides five-star service to our office every time. Sometimes we have two or three visitors, but we recently hosted a visit requiring 26 DV-ready rooms. Not only were the rooms ready, the lodging team also had to ensure the remaining 52 rooms were ready.

We work very closely with our Public Affairs counterparts. Talk about busy! This work center has its footprint on every event transpiring here at the wing. From producing the weekly newspaper, to receiving approval on DV photo ops from Air Force Global Strike Command, PA gets the job done on time, every time. When I drive home late at night after a DV event, there's usually a light on in the PA Office.

Our staff at the Trails End Club is always busy as well. Not only are they always on point with our DV meal requests, they also cater meals from the club over to Fall Hall for DV events, and provide dining options for numerous graduations and private parties. One of the unnoticed accolades of our club is they open for our DV's meals on their days off, based on our itineraries. They do an awesome job.

The Fitness Center has got to be, hands down, one the busiest work centers on base. They are open 120 hours a week, with two facilities. They have year-round intramural and varsity sports programs, aerobic and spinning classes, and squadron physical training programs. They also monitor the Fitness Assessment Cell for our military personnel and guard members and cater to our civilian and retiree customers. Wow!

The Child Development and Youth Centers are the work centers which impress me most of all. The Child Development Center is open 11 hours a day, has some 52 employees caring for 160 children from ages six weeks to five years old, and the center provides two meals and a snack every day.

The Youth Center has 23 employees providing a Before and After School and Summer Day Camp and Open Recreation Program, a Teen Center, and diverse Sports Program to over 95 children from ages 5 to 18. These two facilities take care of our children so we can take care of our mission.

The Education Center is another place where being busy is the norm. This work center provides promotion testing, schedules classes for their resident colleges, and monitors and conducts formal and base training programs. The Education Team also counsels prospective students on their educational goals as well as processing some 300 Tuition Assistance requests a month.

This is only part of what the wing does, space here doesn't permit me to cover the entire wing work center spectrum and I apologize.

Senior Airman Daryl Knee, a first term Airman from 90th MW Public Affairs just moved assignments to Spangdahelm Air Base last week. At his farewell he said, "You grow up fast when perfection is the standard." This is what continues to amaze me; we perform our mission at an incredibly breakneck pace, 24/7 - 365, with flawless execution.

So the next time I accompany a DV on a visit to your facility, remember, I am in awe of how busy you are and the fantastic job you do! You are the ones who are busy; I just love what I do!