General Jumper commends CENTAF Airmen

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Andrea Knudson
  • U.S. Central Command Air Forces-Forward Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper made time to visit two forward-deployed locations recently during a trip to the region for the Middle Eastern Air Symposium.

He received an operations update at U.S. Central Command Air Forces-Forward headquarters at one location, before visiting top performers assigned to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing at another.

At the headquarters, Lt. Gen. Walter E. Buchanan III, CENTAF commander, and other leaders briefed General Jumper on current activities and high-visibility programs across their area of responsibility. Of special interest were presentations on the use of airlift to mitigate ground convoy casualties in Iraq’s dangerous “Sunni Triangle” area, and airpower’s support for security operations enabling the recent Iraqi elections. They also briefed support for the fledgling Iraqi Air Force.

CENTAF’s mission is to furnish integrated airpower supporting operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom as well as operations in the Horn of Africa. Its assets are drawn from joint and coalition forces and include fighter, airlift, tanker, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.

CENTAF forces have contributed significantly to ongoing operations supporting the war on terrorism, General Jumper said.

“Look at most of the intelligence, the surveillance . . . the Predator and fighter sorties that are being flown, the unbelievable amount of tactical airlift every day moving things around . . . I think it’s a pretty good impact. It’s not only in Iraq, it’s in Afghanistan. And what are the results? We’ve had two elections,” he said.

For Iraq’s historic elections, General Buchanan said, “CENTAF helped create a safer environment by supporting Iraqi and coalition operations to detect, deter and disrupt terrorists.

“We also enabled successful democratic elections by keeping combat aircraft over key hot spots and by transporting officials and ballots from the independent election commission for Iraq to and from critical polling areas,” he said.

CENTAF people simultaneously protected crucial Iraqi infrastructure. Additionally, they provided security for coalition convoy missions and backed up ground troops in contact with enemy forces, officials said.

Throughout U.S. Central Command this past year, CENTAF Airmen have flown about 70 fighter sorties and 30 intelligence, surveillance or reconnaissance missions daily. They have flown about 3,000 passengers, moved 400 to 500 tons of cargo and unloaded about 2 million pounds of fuel daily. Aircraft also flew injured people out of theater as needed and performed a variety of other specialized missions.

CENTAF officials met the heavy demands of the latest air and space expeditionary force rotation and major Army and Marine troop rotations while increasing convoy relief to support supply operations. Since October, C-130 Hercules increased their daily tonnage 210 percent, officials said.

The contributions CENTAF Airmen have made to the war on terrorism and the corresponding humanitarian operations reflect just how important each team member is, officials said.

“What you’re doing is huge,” General Jumper said. “It’s going to make a difference for the whole world. People are our most valuable asset, and every person should recognize (he or she is) part of a bigger picture.

“What we’re demonstrating is the power of the vote -- democracy in action. And it’s all because of the efforts of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines doing the nations’ work.”