Creative Airmen shape tomorrow’s Air Force today

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Melanie Streeter
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON --  The initiative and innovations of Airmen today will shape the Air Force of tomorrow, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper on Sept. 15 at the Air Force Association’s 2004 Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition here.

“The theme of this symposium is people, and throughout the whole event, we have paid marvelous tribute to the wonderful people who wear our uniform, who are in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, and who are our civilians (providing) all aspects of leadership throughout our Air Force,” General Jumper said.

And even though a lot of what the Air Force is doing in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom does not show up on the nightly news, there are many successes, the general said.

“Each of these recent successes (has) to do with people; people who are on the fly in many cases, inventing new ways for us to go to war,” he said.

General Jumper presented a number of scenarios -- from using an armed MQ-/RQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle to stop a mortar attack to winning over the hearts and minds of Iraqi citizens through humanitarian aid -- to show how Airmen are making a difference every day.

“Our job is to continue with innovations and integration,” General Jumper said.

Earlier this year, General Jumper said he and Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche outline a rough plan for the future that “will put more flesh on as we continue in our last year of tenure as we adapt air and space power for the missions that we see emerging, and we anticipate will be before us tomorrow.”

The general said he envisions an air and space force that is plugged in and online whenever and wherever it is needed.

“(We see) a future warfighting organization that puts our air operations centers directly in the hands of component commanders working directly for joint force commanders, networked throughout the world, up … all the time, working in war planning and war-plan execution, engaging in foreign countries around the world,” General Jumper said.

Other options the general envisions for the Air Force of tomorrow include even greater integration of air and space forces, exploiting “near” space opportunities and leveraging space power to commanders in the field.

But the true future of the Air Force lies in its people, he said. Airmen today are facing challenges never dreamed of by the Airmen of yesteryear, and they are rising time and again to overcome those challenges.

“We owe it to our predecessors, those who’ve gone before us, our heroes who have brought the legacy of air and space power to this day … (to be) worthy to lead these Airmen into the future,” General Jumper said.