Poe named RAO director for Columbus AFB

  • Published
  • By Maj. Stephen Duran
  • 14th Mission Support Group Commander's Action Group
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  James Poe has been selected to assist Columbus Air Force Base with building and maintaining a closer working relationship with its important retiree community. 

The announcement was made official at a recent Mission Support Group staff meeting. 

Col. Kurt Kayser, 14th MSG Commander, said he was excited about what the new appointment would mean for the base.

"This is a very critical position for the base, one we are delighted to have filled," Kayser said.  "We are very excited about what can be accomplished working hand-in-hand with our retirees and their families."

The Retiree Activities Office Director is a volunteer position which has been vacant for a few years. 

Poe, a retired Airman, was assigned to Columbus AFB as an active-duty Air Traffic Controller and First Sergeant for nine years.  He retired in the Columbus area specifically for the base.

"I decided to retire here years ago when I left Richards-Gebaur AFB in Kansas City before it closed," Poe said. "I'm a Mississippi native, so when I got assigned here, I knew then that I would retire here. Contrary to what some may say about Mississippi, it is a great place to work, live, and raise a family.  After all the base has done for me, volunteering for this position is the least I can do to give back."

Poe's job is to provide a conduit of information helpful to retirees and back to the base. Poe said it's a job he will take great pride in doing.

"Columbus Air Force Base does a great deal for not just our retiree community, but the community as a whole, pumping millions of dollars into the local economy," Poe said. "As a retiree in the area, I reap those benefits, so it gives me great pride to direct the Retiree Activities Office at Columbus Air Force Base." 

Poe will staff the Retire Activities Office Monday and Tuesday initially between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

Anyone requiring retiree assistance should call Poe at 434-3120/3121 or email the RAO office at 14FTW.RAO.columbus@us.af.mil.  Also, check out http://www.columbusafbliving.com and click on the retirement activities link under Family/Support.   Poe is seeking more volunteers to help staff the office Monday-Friday.  He is also soliciting retiree's for other base functions.