Officials want to know: why trash Tinker? Published Nov. 6, 2008 By Brandice J. Armstrong Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., -- Sure, it's easy to roll down a car window and toss out trash or cigarette butts. It's easy to walk out of a facility, or step out of a vehicle in a parking lot and while walking down a street or jogging on a running path to throw trash on the ground. But, why do it? How does littering benefit the installation and its appearance? Tinker officials are asking the same questions. Furthermore, they are requesting a base-wide plea, "Please stop littering." "Let's all be good neighbors," said Chief Master Sgt. Eric Harmon, 72nd Air Base Wing Command chief. "If you're a contributor, I am asking you to change your behavior." The chief said military installations are known for their organized and pristine appearance. Yet, at Tinker, problem areas appear to be at the jogging trails, along the curbs and around the facilities. "I don't understand why people choose to litter and make a mess," the chief said. "What I understand is the military community is a wonderful community to live in. So many people put so much hard work and effort to make it a place where people can come and enjoy being in something so wonderful, so pristine and so well-together." While there are other reasons for litter scattered around the installation such as excessive Oklahoma wind, trash doesn't have to stay on the ground. "If you see it on the ground, please take a moment to pick it up," the chief said. "Let's keep our base clean and looking pretty." Chief Harmon said military community members owe it to themselves to take care of the base. Individuals are responsible for their own messes and if everyone had the attitude, "it's not my problem," then the littering problem could be far worse than it is. "Be good community members, pick up trash and don't contribute to littering," the chief said. "Please find a receptacle and dispose of that stuff."