Air Force chief of staff returns to roots

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sara Csurilla
  • 47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) --  Some thirty-five years ago, 2nd Lt. Norton Schwartz graduated Undergraduate Pilot Training, walking away from here with a set of silver wings and a promising career with unlimited potential.

On April 24th, now Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz came full circle, returning to Laughlin as the guest speaker at the wing's dining out.

This was the first time in Laughlin's history that a sitting Air Force chief of staff visited the base, according to Todd Schroeder, 47th Flying Training Wing historian. The visit not only was historic for the base, but nostalgic for the general, who said he was very pleased to accept the invitation to return his first duty station.

"I had a very positive experience here back in 1973 to 1974," said General Schwartz, adding that the invitation came as a pleasant surprise. "(I accepted) for both sentimental reasons and to acknowledge the fact that there is very important work that continues to go on here."

More than three decades have passed since General Schwartz visited the very place he began his career as a professional aviator and, like any place, everything isn't exactly the same.

"Laughlin has changed a lot since my last time here," the general said. "But the sense of community, which it even had back in the 1970s, is still a major feature."

Home to more than 5,000 active duty military members and civilians and with more than 300 students graduating from Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training each year, Laughlin still has a small-town feel. That close-knit sense of camaraderie is unforgettable.

When General Schwartz came through pilot training as a young second lieutenant, he too made lasting memories. 

"I can think of two of my best memories from my time here," he said. "One was graduation.  I received my wings from then Brig. Gen. Robbie Risner, a former fighter pilot and prisoner of war." 

On a lighter note he said his other memory was developing his "affection" for chimichangas in Del Rio.

As General Schwartz's career progressed, he said the lessons he learned during his training at Laughlin stayed with him and helped prepare him for a long career in the Air Force.

"I learned that your professionalism and reputation start at the beginning of your career," he said. "It doesn't start when you move up in rank, but right at the beginning. I learned the need to know your business, to be professional and to understand the platforms in which you operate."

The former Laughlin student also had a few words of wisdom to pass on to some future chiefs of staff of the Air Force.

"You have to be bigger than where you came from," he said. "We are part of a joint team and people value what we do as an Air Force. Be good at what you do and always stay trustworthy, if you're not trusted, you can't be effective. Earn trust and credibility and opportunities will undoubtedly come your way."

Keeping that big picture perspective might help Airmen understand the imperative behind the increase of requirements for pilots to take on what might be considered non-traditional pilot assignments in unmanned aerial systems.

The general stressed that these assignments, though remote in nature, are actually "close to the fight, intimately involved (and) doing things on which lives depend every day."

"The best shooters in the Army and Marine Corps will never go through a window or go through a door without the situational awareness that a UAS provides," General Schwartz said. "And why would we ask them to do that when they would be safer and more successful with the kind of work we're doing."

The general acknowledged he's aware of concern over assignments into this platform and pledged that the Air Force would address those concerns.

"I think that some folks supporting the UAS mission will want to eventually move on to another cockpit," he said. "That's fine we'll certainly work to accommodate that." 

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