Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy visits with Airmen from the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing June 17, 2011, at the Afghan air force compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Brian E. Christiansen)
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy visits with Airmen from the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing June 17, 2011, at the Afghan air force compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Brian E. Christiansen)
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy speaks to Airmen June 17, 2011, at the Afghan air force compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Brian E. Christiansen)
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy speaks to Airmen June 17, 2011, at the Afghan air force compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Brian E. Christiansen)
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy speaks to Airmen June 17, 2011, at the Afghan air force compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Brian E. Christiansen)
by Capt. Jamie Humphries
438th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
6/21/2011 - KABUL, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- The chief master sergeant of the Air Force, on a tour throughout the area of responsibility, visited and spoke with members of the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing here recently.
While visiting the wing, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy had lunch with wing enlisted leaders, visited the English immersion center "thunder lab," talked with maintainers on the flightline and held an "all call."
The chief addressed issues of concern and topics impacting the unit and the Air Force in general. One of the topics of interest discussed by Airmen was uniform and gear wear in theater. The chief addressed the issue and talked about the future of the new MultiCam gear now being issued to deployers.
"The Operation Enduring Freedom camouflage pattern ground gear is what we are now issuing to our deployers outside the wire," he said. "This is a joint service solution."
During his tour, Chief Roy also received a wing mission brief and information regarding wing Airmen stationed here as well as the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and the 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group in Shindand, Afghanistan. The chief discussed the focus Airmen must have in order to carry out the mission here.
"My advice to anyone serving in any theater of operation is to remain focused on the mission," he said. "You have to understand the commander's intent and you have to understand what the commander is measuring success by. If you understand what that is, you know what the mission is and you can see your part in that mission."
Members of the 438th AEW thanked the chief for visiting and reinforcing the importance of the military's mission in Afghanistan.
"I am proud that the chief master sergeant of the Air Force visited us today," said Master Sgt. Martin Aguilera, of the 438th AEW. "It says volumes about our leadership and that they appreciate what we do here."
Comments
6/22/2011 6:44:46 PM ET With the Army reevaluating their ACU uniform, one which the ABU is originated from, it's best that we go with a uniform that is functional and is used OCONUS. COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) is supposed to be the go-to solution since it saves taxpayers money in development and acquisition cost. Make the change already since that's what the Air Force is known for.
afkeoni, OCONUS
6/21/2011 5:06:51 PM ET Seeing the Chief in that uniform gives me hope that maybe someone will see the light on the non-functionality and worthless nature of the ABU.
