CMSAF visits exercise participants on Navy ship

  • Published
  • By Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Grieco
  • Fuerzas Aliadas Panamax Public Affairs
PANAMA CITY, Panama (AFNS) --  The chief master sergeant of the Air Force toured USS Mesa Verde at sea in the Caribbean and met Airmen at the Air Force Command Center at Tocumen Airport in Panama City, Panama, during Fuerzas Aliadas Panamax 2009, a 12-day security training exercise involving 20 countries in the Panama region Sept. 19.

During Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy's visit to the multinational exercise, he spoke with Sailors, Airmen and members of the Panamanian military at an all-hands call and met with senior leaders to discuss issues concerning the exercise area of operations.

"The (U.S. Southern Command) mission is to ensure joint and coalition forces have interoperability and work together to build strong working relationships," Chief Roy said.

Airmen from the 612th Air Expeditionary Communications Squadron and Panamanian troops met with Chief Roy at the Capt. Juan Delgado Air Base in Tocumen, Panama.

Whether the mission is humanitarian assistance or actual combat, American military forces are continually working in a joint or multinational role, the Air Force's senior enlisted member said. He also pointed out that more than 40,000 Airmen are currently deployed forward and another 200,000 are "deployed in place," serving behind the scenes to support combatant commander requirements.

"I wanted to see and talk to the dedicated and hard-working Airmen that are providing support for our SOUTHCOM mission," Chief Roy said. "They are doing an outstanding job."

The chief flew from the airport to Mesa Verde and toured the ship with Mesa Verde Navy Command Master Chief Scott Knorowski. Chief Roy said he frequently interacts with all services in his role as the Air Force's senior enlisted adviser.

"This certainly isn't my first time on a ship or in a chief petty officer mess," Chief Roy said. "In my previous job, I worked as a senior enlisted adviser to the U.S. Pacific Command combatant commander. I spent a great deal of time on ships in the Pacific. We are a joint fighting force in everything we do."

Mesa Verde acted as the flagship of a multinational Caribbean task force during the exercise, conducting interdiction and other security exercises with partner nations.

Chief Roy greeted a group of newly pinned chief petty officers during his tour, and advised them to take care of their Sailors.

"Whatever it takes to take care of them, you must do it," he said.

Newly pinned Navy Chief Petty Officer Tony Chambers of Mesa Verde's engineering department said he took the lesson to heart.

"Like he said, we must take care of our Sailors," Chief Chambers said. "They are the ones turning the wrench, firing the guns or operating the satellites. We have to make sure all their needs are met. That's our primary job as chiefs."

Master Chief Knorowski, the Mesa Verde's senior enlisted adviser, said the visit underscored the joint nature of today's Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

"We're five services working together," Master Chief Knorowski said. "We integrate, we work together, we train together, we play hard together and we fight together."

Fuerzas Aliadas Panamax 2009 takes place in the waters off the coasts of Panama from Sept. 11 to 22, with the participation of civil and military forces from 20 partner nations.

More than 20 vessels and a dozen aircraft are involved in the exercise. Participants focused on a variety of responses to any request from the government of Panama to protect and guarantee safe passage of traffic through the Panama Canal, ensure its neutrality, and respect national sovereignty. Simulated ground forces also participated at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

(Navy Petty Officer 1st Class David P. Coleman contributed to this article.)