Senior leaders discuss Air Force future

  • Published
  • By Capt. Aaron Burgstein
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  The Air Force’s top three leaders stopped at this forward-deployed location Nov. 8 while on their tour through Southwest Asia.

Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche, Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald R. Murray met with Airmen of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing and discussed both current issues and the future of the Air Force.

One of their primary reasons for traveling here was to get up close and personal with deployed Airmen, they said.

“It’s important for us to visit with our Airmen,” Secretary Roche said. “(We need to) tell them how important they are, how proud we are and how much they are appreciated not just by us, but by the American people.”

Secretary Roche said he takes these opportunities to see how well recent Air Force initiatives are working in the field.

“We do a lot of listening. We try to understand things that are happening on a daily basis,” he said, “to see if (the initiatives) are working and if there is more that needs to be done.”

General Jumper said trips like this show him how well the Air Force is operating.

“This is a chance to see our expeditionary Air Force at work,” he said. “There is no better example than what we see right here. ... This is a perfect example of a mix of Guard, Reserve and active-duty [Airmen] working together on a single mission under a single wing commander. It’s an example of an expeditionary wing, an example of how we go to war, and it’s a testimony of (one) of our strengths in the Air Force.”

This is also an opportunity for the leaders to see how Airmen adapt and change to meet new challenges. How Airmen meet these challenges is not a one-step process; it is a process of continuous adaptation, Secretary Roche said.

“The Air Force adapts very quickly to changing circumstances,” he said. “In Operation Enduring Freedom, there was a very special use of airpower (to) support our special operators. In addition, everything we did for a long time was done by air. We adapted very well to that.”

Secretary Roche said he sees the future as something even more far-reaching.

“We’ve evolved now into (something) where the best analogy I can think of is (in) Afghanistan,” he said. “The presence of our aircraft ... combined with our Army colleagues and others on the ground, (helped) the people of Afghanistan. (For) the first time in 5,000 years, they chose their own government, and they’re proud of what they’ve done. That’s airpower adapting continuously ... we adapt continuously, and we’ll continue to do so.”

General Jumper said adaptation and the Air Force’s future revolve around the concept of an expeditionary Air Force and its evolution.

“I think when you come back in five years from now and see the EAF, it’s going to look just as different to you as it (looked) five years ago,” he said.

Airmen of today and of the future will have to adapt to new challenges and be prepared to expand their skill sets to make them true “battlefield Airmen,” General Jumper said.

“Airmen will be trained tactically,” he said. “That’s going to be the mindset we’re going to as (we) transition more and more and as we get into this business of the EAF. (Some people think) of EAF as a scheduling drill. It’s not. It’s a way of life. It’s what you’re living right now, and we couldn’t be more proud of you.”