Groups in Columbus gathered for Military Town Hall meeting

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Successful military bases depend on partnerships among a variety of groups.

Thursday, in Columbus those groups came together for a Military Town Hall Meeting to discuss the successes at Columbus Air Force Base and learn more about what the State is doing to help military families.

Governor Tate Reeves signed 2 executive orders, one establishing the Mississippi Defense Communities Development Council to provide assistance to communities, like Columbus, with military installations. Another establishes the Military Star Schools Program to help students in military families more easily transition when they change schools.

Those at the meeting also learned about legislation passed this session which allows military spouses to more easily transfer professional licenses and certifications from other states to Mississippi.

With families taken care of, the base can do what it does best.

“Last year we graduated the most pilots in a 30 plus year history out at Columbus. 354 pilots that we were able to graduate right in the middle of the pandemic, so that goes to the professionalism, the skill of our instructor pilots. It goes to the skill of our entire team,” said Col. Jeffrey Welborn, CMDR 14th Mission Support Group.

The Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee and the Base Community Council sponsored today’s Town Hall.