Gen. Bunch visits Robins Air Force Base, discusses reopening

General Arnold W. Bunch Jr., commander of Air Force Materiel Command, visited Robins Air Force Base, Friday, to receive a COVID-19 update and to get details about the installation’s plan to return to full capacity.

According to a press release, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Gen. Bunch is responsible for installation and mission support, discovery and development, test and evaluation, life cycle management services and sustainment of virtually every major Air Force weapon system. The command employs approximately 80,000 people and manages $60 billion of budget authority annually.

“I had a great visit today with team Robins,” Bunch said. “I am very impressed with the innovation and the teamwork that I have seen with the leaders and the union leadership, as they coordinated and talked about how we are going to safely return the workforce back into full capacity. We have taken steps to do extra cleaning, spacing, change of shifts, and change the way of the break rooms. It’s just amazing innovation by a whole lot of people to where we can get this critical mission back on board. The mission here at Robins is mission essential. We cannot generate air power around the world without the great work of the airmen and team Robins.”

Bunch said as they begin the processing of phasing people back on the base, that they will continue to follow all CDC guidelines, and the trends of the local community.

“We will begin with some, not all, and for those who can do their work via telework will continue to do so for an extended period of time,” Bunch said. “But we cannot work on a C-130 fuel cell inside the wing via telework, we cannot turn F-15’s, or fix parts on F-35’s via telework. Leadership will be brought on first, and then slowly the rest of the workforce. If we run into anything new where the trends change, we will simply stop and reassess. This is all data driven, not date driven.”

Bunch also expressed to base members that their work environment will not be the same as it was back in February. Bunch went on to explain that measures such as social distancing and wearing masks will continued to be practiced. There will not be a mandate for members to take a COVID-19 test. Bunch said they will ask members to do an assessment of themselves before they come back to work, and if one is ill or running a fever, they will be asked not to come to work.

“I am really proud of our airman, both uniform and nonuniform, for their dedication during this pandemic,” Bunch said. “Our focus has and will remain, the safety of all members. So to the families, we assure you that is our focus and we will continue to do everything we can to protect and minimize the exposure. That is very important to us.”

Robins Air Force Base was the first installation that Bunch visited since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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