Secretary tours Joint Base Balad, shares Air Force vision

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Thomas Trower
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) --  The secretary of the Air Force visited Joint Base Balad Oct. 13 to learn about the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing's contributions to the war on terrorism and to share his vision for the future of the Air Force. 

Secretary Michael B. Donley toured the Air Force Theater Hospital, the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance and Attack Squadron, and the 66th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron. 

Secretary Donley addressed the Air Force's top five near-term priorities: Reinvigorate the Air Force nuclear enterprise, partner with the joint and coalition team to win today's fight, develop and care for Airmen and their families, modernize the aging air and space inventories, and reclaim its acquisition excellence. He said the best way to accomplish these goals and recapture the Air Force's long-standing reputation of excellence is to return to basics. 

"We have to maintain precision and accountability across the board, not just in the nuclear mission," he said. "Just because we're at war doesn't mean we don't follow the technical orders or the checklists. I think that if we get back to the Air Force core values -- integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do -- and we live those core values every day, we're going to be just fine." 

The 22nd secretary of the Air Force said he is often asked what the Air Force provides to the current conflict, and he always gives the same answer -- one that is focused on airlift and air refueling, special operations, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and aeromedical evacuation. 

"As I watch the deployment pattern and visit with the Airmen out here in the theater, I know that the Air Force is 'all in' fighting the war on terrorism," he said. 

The secretary said he reminds people of the "air bridge", which the Air Force provides through its airlift and air refueling capabilities, allowing servicemembers to carry out their missions. 

"That air bridge is a national asset that we sometimes take for granted, but it underpins essentially what our global capability is all about," he said. "The expeditionary nature of today's military depends on this air bridge and air tanking capability." 

In addition, Air Force special operations forces have fought alongside warfighters from other services since the earliest phases of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq, Secretary Donley said. The special operations Airmen have played a key role in ensuring America's ability to conduct precise and effective airstrikes at any time and place without warning. 

He praised Airmen for successfully integrating air, space and cyberspace capabilities to make unmanned aircraft systems a powerful force multiplier above the battlefield. 

"It's such a tremendous capability -- it didn't even exist 10 years ago -- but you have taken on this new technology and figured out how to network it all together," he said. "That's the biggest eye-opener I've seen in my days in theater. The extent to which the United States Air Force -- a service that has always relied on technology throughout its history -- has figured out a way to network all these capabilities to provide joint warfighting capabilities that the United States never had before. And you have built it all in just the past five or 10 years. My hat is off to you." 

The Air Force Theater Hospital and its accompanying aeromedical evacuation operation have also played a key role in the survival of servicemembers across the battlefield. The Air Force Theater Hospital -- the equivalent of a level one trauma center in the United States -- sees more than 335 patients per month, including coalition servicemembers, Department of Defense civilians, contractors and Iraqi citizens. 

"You are operating the most capable and seamless (aeromedical evacuation) system we've ever had," Secretary Donley said. "From the point of injury, to this great hospital at Joint Base Balad, all the way back home -- the survival rates in this conflict are higher than they have been in any previous conflict, and the time it takes to get wounded (servicemembers) back to the United States is shorter than it has ever been." 

Visiting Joint Base Balad and other locations in theater has been an eye-opener, the secretary said. 

"All of the positive things I've been able to convey about the Air Force's contributions to the war on terrorism have not only been confirmed but multiplied tenfold," he said. "The contributions you are making to the joint fight are essential in every way I can possibly think of." 

The contributions are based in part on Air Force technology, but more important than the technology is the Airmen who use it to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace. 

"What makes the technology work is the people -- it's you who take the equipment and figure out not only how to maintain and sustain it, but how to take it to its most effective level of performance and how to integrate it into other capabilities," he said. 

"Integrating capabilities across our missions and functions in the Air Force is one of the most important competencies we employ in the joint fight, and you do it very well. If the American people understood what it takes to undertake these global operations, they would have a better understanding of all the contributions that you are making, and I'm determined to make sure they will learn more about the role that you are playing out here," he said. "I'm anxious, now that I have seen firsthand what you are doing here, to go back and speak to your families, congressmen, senators and everyone who will listen about the great job you are doing." 

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