Personal sacrifices by enlisted force not overlooked

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chyenne A. Griffin
  • U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  At one point or another in every servicemember’s career, he or she will make a personal sacrifice for the accomplishment of the mission.

Chief Master Sgt. John Foran, 9th Air Force and U.S. Central Command Air Forces command chief, wants the enlisted force to know their sacrifices, particularly from those serving in theater, are noticed and appreciated.

“I’ve seen deployed personnel do things that I didn’t think were humanly possible,” the chief said. “Despite heat, cold, austere locations, near-impossible missions, nothing stops these folks. To these patriots, it’s not a job -- it’s a devotion.”

That is why 9th AF and CENTAF leaders spend so much time “boots on the ground” in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Chief Foran said.

“The importance of leadership, specifically from the immediate supervisor, does not diminish in a deployed environment -- it is enhanced,” Chief Foran said. “You can’t lead from afar, you have to be involved in every level of your troop’s development.”

During his first trip to Southwest Asia as adviser to Lt. Gen. Walter E. Buchanan III, the CENTCOM air component commander, the chief’s visit was extended to help resolve manning and joint mission issues for a security forces unit at a forward location.

“The really important aspect of my job is the proper and effective utilization of the enlisted forces,” he said. “I love walking around and having folks stumbling all over themselves with pride to show me how important their part of the mission is.”

Different things drive different people -- patriotism, pride, duty and honor -- but the chief said it is the common drive and positive attitude he observes on his travels around the area that has him still serving after 28 years in the Air Force.

The chief said that can-do attitude has led to many positive things in Southwest Asia such as most forward-located education centers now having the ability to offer Professional Military Education courses, career development courses, College Level Examination Program and Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support testing. Some installations have even gone a step further and developed personalized study courses, including a bullet-writing course at one location that drew more than 140 junior officers and enlisted Airmen.

But along with the good, he said there are issues and concerns to be resolved. One of his biggest concerns is the stress on the security forces career field. The chief said he recognizes the strain on each Airman who serves in such an important force protection role.

The Air Force is doing things right in terms of the air and space expeditionary force cycle processes, Chief Foran said. Because of the system, the majority of the force is on steady and predictable 120-day deployments and less than 22 percent serve on extended deployments of about 179 days. That 22 percent includes the overtasked security forces career field, transporters, civil engineers and other low-density/high-demand Air Force platforms. Few others are on 365-day permanent-party tours -- normally reserved for key leadership positions.

Ensuring trained and ready forces arrive in each deployment cycle is also going well, and some pending changes will improve the process even more, Chief Foran said. One of these changes is ensuring Airmen serving third-country national escort duty receive force protection ready-augmentee training at home station.

The chief is also consistently asked during his travels about wearing the new Air Force physical training uniform at deployed installations. He says it assists in maintaining “our seamless force visibly and mentally in a joint operational environment.”

Airmen also asked about decorations awarded after deployments.

“There is no magic percentage or secret cutoff,” he said. “All we insist on from leaders is that they recognize that it’s fairly normal to work harder and longer here than at home station, so you cannot compare performance that way. You must compare individuals to their peers here in theater and after that figure out who honestly carried more weight than others.”

The chief is clear about one thing -- everyone deserves to be recognized for his or her honorable service, and there are awards in place to recognize that work. Airmen should research and see what they are qualified to receive, but he said there must be a way to recognize the achievements of those top performers who went above and beyond.

“I will never forget the day General Buchanan pinned a Purple Heart on a young Airman wounded in the right shoulder in the battle for Fallujah,” Chief Foran said. “The general pinned it to his pocket and shook his left hand and went to turn away but was stopped by the Airman who, despite a very severe bullet wound and injuries to his right shoulder, still very slowly -- and despite the objections of the general -- rendered a proud salute. His last question to us was when he could get back out to do the mission -- talk about shaking you to the core.

“We are doing some amazing things in the Air Force nowadays,” he added. “(We grant) medical waivers to some of these heroes (who) want to continue to serve their country, going above and beyond on the battlefield in close work with (Soldiers) doing nontraditional missions such as convoy support. I can’t say enough about the (medics) supporting the wounded Airmen coming off the battlefield in places like Balad (Air Base, Iraq).”

With more than 17,000 people deployed into Southwest Asia at any given time, the missions could not be more diverse, the chief said.

“We used to talk total force,” he said. “Now we live it.”

Chief Foran passed along a piece of advice he received earlier in his career –- be someone that others would aspire to be. He said leadership and followership go hand-in-hand, and it is important not to lead with fear and intimidation, but with integrity, respect and professionalism offered up and down the chain. He said in a combat environment such as this, leaders and followers have to be flexible to succeed and maintain focus on what is truly important -- the mission and the people accomplishing the mission.

“We have already established air dominance as the world’s premier air and space force. What’s important in this fight is to be there when our troops come in contact with the enemy. Our mere presence gives the enemy pause, as it should, so as long as there are boots on the ground there will be planes in the air,” Chief Foran said.