CMSAF holds open forum for Airmen at AFA

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Amaani Lyle
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  The Air Force's top enlisted leader conducted an open forum at the 2009 Air Force Association Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., Sept. 16. 

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy discussed such current issues as training, compliance and outlined the four pillars of the July 2009-July 2010 Year of the Air Force family. 

The chief opened with a reference to two recently fallen deployed Airmen as a reminder that the service must remain battle-minded. 

"As enlisted Airmen, we really need to focus on (the fact that we're an) Air Force at war," he said. We need to make sure we look like that, act like that and think like that." 

Although an average of 40,000 Airmen are serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the chief explained that people downrange are not the only ones in the fight. 

"It's not just the deployed members of our family who are at war," the chief said. "We have about 200,000 men and women across our Air Force who are somehow deployed or employed by combatant commanders -- that is a significant number." 

Concurrently, as the Air Force keeps its focus on reinvigorating the nuclear enterprise, the chief stressed the importance of compliance and attention to detail. 

"We have people who are complying with standards ... and following those operating instructions each and every day," he said. "But all too often, because we're in this war, you hear about the 'fog of war. We can't afford for one more individual to perish because we took a shortcut." 

The chief encouraged dialogue about following operating instructions explicitly and working to refine them as mission requirements change. Compliance is among several issues in which the chief advocated collaboration with the Air Force's joint and coalition partners. 

"What are you doing in the fight today to work with our joint and coalition partners?" the chief queried. "I would like to see some of our young Airmen go to joint and coalition (professional military education) ... I think you as Airmen are ready for it." 

The chief explained that Airmen continue to be engaged in today's fight, thus underscoring the importance of expeditionary training. 

Chief Roy said Airmen often ask him about the expeditionary combat skills training provided at bases such as Fort Dix, N.J., and whether people going downrange should have to return to CST with each tour. 

"We've asked the expeditionary center to take a look at their training -- which by the way is the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center -- not just Air Mobility Command's (program)," he said. The chief noted the program can be adjusted to mission needs, but rigorous training is necessary as enemy tactics change. 

The chief also cited the importance of reviewing the unit deployment manager program. 

"One of the most important positions we have is preparing people for deployments, getting them out the door and then receiving them back -- if we can't do that fundamentally, we've got some problems," he said. 

The chief addressed a somewhat taboo service topic: inflated enlisted performance reports. New program regulations will prevent Airmen who fail their PT tests from receiving a "firewall 5," he said. 

"How could someone be a firewall 5 when they failed their physical training test?" the chief asked. "It goes back to our number one core value: Integrity First. This is our problem and it's for us to fix -- whether you're a young staff sergeant with your first Airman, or a lieutenant colonel commanding a squadron ... you've got to make that hard call. You're only hurting those who really deserve it." 

The chief closed with discussion of Year of the Air Force Family and described the four pillars therein: 

-- Airman and Family Support
-- Health and Wellness
-- Airman and Family Housing
-- Education, Development and Employment 

The key to the program, the chief said, is that it is not intended to be confined to a time period, rather to be the onset of a long-term plan to highlight areas in which the Air Force can focus. 

"We're not going to add new programs, but we'll look at the programs in place to see whether or not they're working," he said. 

In addition to focusing on new child development centers and their sustainment, the chief said plans are in the works to train Airmen and Family Readiness Center technicians to increase their effectiveness in relocating families under the Exceptional Family Member Program. 

Chief Roy clarified that the Year of the Air Force Family also includes provisions for single Airmen through housing privatization and military construction. 

In all, there are 22 dormitory military construction projects programmed between fiscal years 2010 to 2015 worth more than $420 million, he said.