Undersecretary visits AMC, discusses fuel efficiency, deployed Airmen, total force

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) --  Undersecretary of the Air Force Erin C. Conaton made an official visit to Air Mobility Command here Aug. 19 and 20 to learn more about command's continuing mission, capabilities and abilities.

Ms. Conaton flew to Scott AFB on a C-17 Globemaster III and during the flight she was provided a demonstration by an aeromedical evacuation team and witnessed an airdrop.

"The flight gave me a first-hand look at a lot of AMC's mission," Ms. Conaton said. "It was amazing to see a team of professionals in action and the capabilities they can bring to the joint fight."

Also during her visit, Ms. Conaton met with Gen. Raymond E. Johns Jr., AMC commander, and Gen. Duncan McNabb, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, as well as other senior leaders from AMC and 18th Air Force, learning more about airdrop, airlift, aeromedical evacuation and fuel efficiency to name a few.

"I'm thrilled to be here," she said. "I'm very grateful to all the Airmen of AMC for everything they do, not only for our Air Force but for the joint fight."

Ms. Conaton also took time out for an interview where she answered questions on a variety of Air Force- and AMC-related topics ranging from fuel efficiency to the total force.

During the interview, it was noted that AMC is spearheading many initiatives for fuel efficiency to include maximizing payloads for airlift. She was asked about her view as to the importance of fuel efficiency for the Air Force fleet and what Airmen should remember about its importance.

"One of the parts of my job that I like the most is that I get to work with senior energy officials for the Department of the Air Force," she said. "Energy is incredibly important for a number of reasons. One, we are increasingly reliant upon it, not only as a service but as a joint force. The amount of energy we consume per deployed service member has risen 175 percent since the Vietnam War.

"At the same time, in places like Afghanistan, it's incredibly dangerous to get fuel to remote locations. So, anything we can do to make our vehicles and our joint partners' vehicles more fuel efficient means less fuel we have to carry to the battlefield.

"The other thing," she added, "is we are at a time where budgets are tight. Secretary (Robert M.) Gates is leading an effort to increase efficiency across the Department of Defense. Fuel efficiency is one of the great ways that we can make sure that every dollar that is spent in the Department of Defense is going for warfighting capabilities. Every dollar we don't have to spend on fuel is a dollar that can be invested in other high priority items for the Department of the Air Force.

"More than that, there is so much leadership that's happening here at AMC on fuel efficiency," Ms. Conaton said. "I really support and admire what General Johns is doing in this regard. I think we have to create incentives so that commands like this that come up with creative ways to save fuel are able to reinvest those dollars in things that make the mobility air forces as highly effective as possible."

She also was asked about her assessment of Airmen and family member care, and programs such as Comprehensive Airman Fitness, being carried out in commands like AMC and Air Combat Command in making the force more resilient in today's high operations tempo.

"One of the Air Force's top priorities is taking care of our Airmen and their families," Ms. Conaton said. "We know that at a time of continued high operations tempo and deployments that we put additional stress on the Airmen and their families who remain back home.

"I am very appreciative of the work that General Johns and General (William M.) Fraser (III, ACC commander) and their teams at these two commands have undertaken to look at fitness and resiliency in a comprehensive way, not just with physical fitness but dealing with emotional and spiritual aspects of fitness as well. I also think it is very important to focus on the support to the entire family -- whether that be Airmen who are deployed or coming back -- and then all the people in his or her life who support them.

"I think we are very encouraged by this effort and see it as another great effort coming on the heels of the Year of the Air Force family that will allow us to continue to make strides in this area," she said

When asked about how each deployed Airman is contributing to the success of deployed operations, she said, "Of the top five priorities of the secretary (of the Air Force) and the chief (of staff of the Air Force), number one is supporting the joint fight today. The chief likes to say we are all in and I couldn't agree with that more. We see that throughout the Air Force in terms of the contributions that our folks are making both with air platforms and on the ground in support of the joint fight.

"I think that it's not a surprise that whenever I talk to one of my fellow service counterparts from the other services, they generally begin by saying 'thank you' to the Air Force for everything we're doing, particularly for the ground forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Obviously AMC is critical in that regard. We couldn't get the people, the materials, the aeromedical and the fuel that's needed in the theater without the important work that is done here at this command. So I think the direct support mission is absolutely essential and I think this command is doing it in an excellent way."

She also had some thoughts on how the total force has grown to be even better than it was before.

"I think one of the things that has been highlighted particularly in the nine years we've been at war is that this is a total force enterprise with active, Guard and Reserve working so closely together," Ms. Conaton said. "And again, AMC is really in the lead on this. The way that we work our crews for a variety of airlift platforms that we have highlight the fact that we can't do this without a total force approach.

"I think there's a lot of creative associations that have been put forward in the last couple of years and the example that AMC has put forward in that regard has been inspirational to other parts of the Air Force," Ms. Conaton said.