There are more than 690,000 Airmen serving in the U.S. Air Force, and according to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, each one is critical to the Air Force mission and each one has story to tell.

As outlined in the Air Force vision, “every Airman, regardless of specialty, must understand and be able to explain how they contribute to producing unparalleled airpower for our Nation Each Airman has a compelling story that needs to be told. Tell your story. Let your fellow Americans know that their Air Force provides Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power to defend our great nation. Airmen should be proud of who they are, what they do, and how well they accomplish the mission.”

Airmen can explain their role in producing airpower for America by emailing their story to YourAFstory@pentagon.af.mil. 

The “Global Vigilance, Global Reach, Global Power for America,” document explains how the Air Force provides airpower for America and further, how Airmen directly power the Air Force’s core missions and airpower capabilities.

Today’s innovative Airmen contribute to five core Air Force missions: air and space superiority; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); rapid global mobility; global strike; and command and control. These combined missions provide Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power for America.

Air Force senior leaders want to know what inspires Airmen to serve, and how they fit into Global Vigilance, Global Reach, Global Power for America.  These stories will be used to further inspire Airmen and to inform airpower advocates on the vital contributions Airmen make to the world’s most respected air force.

“Make no mistake—whether you’re a pilot, maintainer, special operator, medical specialist, instructor, knowledge operator, or any other job in the Air Force, you’re an absolutely critical member of our team,” according to the Global Vigilance, Global Reach, Global Power for America document.

In a recent speech at an Air Force Association conference, Welsh introduced the audience to Airman 1st Class Davell James, and explained how James is vital to nuclear deterrence.

“He’s a chef at a missile alert facility at F.E. Warren, Wyoming,” the general said. “He spends 16 days a month in the missile fields, four days at a time. He starts work at five in the morning. He leaves work about eight at night after finishing cleaning up the kitchen after dinner for the missile crews and the security guys (who) always want an after dinner snack. He’s a pretty amazing guy. He knows he’s responsible for morale.”

If you talk with James, the general said, “…you feel good about yourself. You feel good about life. You feel great about our Air Force.

“If our missile alert crews, and the teams that support them, can’t operate in the missile fields, we can’t do nuclear deterrence,” he said. “Without Davell (James), they can’t. Without them, we don’t have nuclear deterrence. Said another way, no Davell (James), no Global Power. Davell (James) needs to understand that. We need to understand that.”

To learn more about Global Vigilance, Global Reach, Global Power for America visit http://www.af.mil/Airpower4America.