Air Forces Central general visits deployed Airmen

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jason McCree
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing public affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  The general charged with ensuring the success of air mobility directly supporting the war on terrorism visited Airmen March 8 at a Southwest Asia air base.

Brig. Gen. Thomas Haynes, the U.S. Air Forces Central director of mobility forces, visited various units throughout the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing and talked to Airmen who fly and fix a large number of the C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft that conduct the deployed airlift mission.

"During our time with General Haynes, he showed us how we fit into the (area of operations) mobility mission," said Lt. Col. Thomas Saxe, the 386th Expeditionary Operations Group deputy commander, who is deployed from the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va. "We provide a key part of the puzzle of moving troops and equipment to priority locations, and hearing how the general uses our 98 percent mission effectiveness rate is great insight."

In addition to meeting with Airmen, the general also discussed the importance air mobility has on the success of the war on terrorism.

"Air mobility sustains the fight," General Haynes said. "The deployed theater has come to rely on air mobility. The size of the theater is similarly to that of the distance that runs from Key West, Fla., to Alaska. This yields tremendous logistical challenges when trying to provide for the warfighters' needs."

To meet these logistical challenges, the general said it takes collaboration to ensure the success of the airlift operations going on throughout the theater. 

"As airlifters, we should be very proud of our ability to accomplish the mission, because it requires a lot of people working in synchronization to get the job done," he said. "Air mobility is an important piece of how we conduct the war."

In addition to meeting with Airmen and discussing air mobility's impacts on operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and ongoing operations in the Horn of Africa region, the general also discussed the importance of the total force on the war.

"We could not fight this war without the total force. There is no way we can do what we do today without out reservists and guardsmen working with their active-duty counterparts," said the general, who is deployed from the Rhode Island National Guard. "By bringing in guardsmen and reservists to work side by side with active-duty Airmen in a deployed location, we're building an element of trust and credibility difficult to match at home stations -- they trust in each other to get the job done." 

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