General Pace visits with Kirtland Airmen

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
  • Air Force Print News
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) --  Hundreds of Airmen at Kirtland Air Force Base got a chance today to participate in a question-and-answer session with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace.

General Pace was visiting the area to talk to base Airmen and the local people of Albuquerque. After a short introduction, the general spent more than an hour answering questions from the crowd on issues including transformation of the armed forces, the war on terrorism, force shaping and morale issues.

On the issue of force shaping, he said the Air Force is now able to complete some missions with fewer people. He said that in some cases, targets that it took 50 aircraft to destroy in World War II, may only take one aircraft now.

"I am comfortable with a change of size in the Air Force that tells me that I can actually pick more targets from the air with a smaller Air Force five years from now, than I could five years ago with a larger Air Force," General Pace said.

After the question-and-answer session, General Pace handed out coins to more than 100 Kirtland Airmen. One person in the crowd was Airman 1st Class Jonathan Gaylor from the 58th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, who said that this is the first time he has seen such a high ranking officer.

"It was really great to see him out there today," Airman Gaylor said. "He did a great job answering our questions. It shows us that we are appreciated by our senior leaders and that they care about what we think."