CMSAF visits Kandahar Airmen

Published Dec. 2, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Angelique N. Smythe
451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The 16th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, James A. Roy, visited Kandahar Airfield Nov. 28 through 30 to say thank you to the Airmen here.

The Chief said he took this time to better understand the full spectrum of a deployment for an Airman on ground-level. He wanted to see what Airmen do day in and day out while deployed here, along with how they have been prepared for this environment.

Chief Roy visited several units within the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing. He also dined with Airmen and senior enlisted leaders of all U.S. services - Air Force, Navy, Army and Marines - as well as coalition forces.

He described the mission of the 451st AEW as being broad in nature from "doing the mission of recovering our wounded on the battlefield to going over to the hospital where they deploy them to" as well as the JET (Joint Expeditionary Tasking) Airmen who are here "doing just absolutely amazing things."

Chief Roy was also able to visit the Afghan National Army Air Corps which is being mentored and reintegrated by Airmen of the 451st AEW. He said it was quite exciting to see this as it's the main reason why coalition forces are here.

"The training that we're providing to the Afghan National Army Air Corps is one that I, along with our Air Force total, place a high value on because we're helping them build their capacity to be able to have a professional air corps, as we know it, and potentially an air force one day."

An example of what the Chief saw during his visit included Airmen assisting the Afghans with developing and standardizing lesson training plans and on-the-job-training records.

"Look at Hap Arnold," Chief Roy said. "If he would have had a force that would have come in to help him set up these things, just think how much further advanced we would have been. We are absolutely the best Air Force in the world, but it's taken us a while to get where we are today. As I look at what we're doing in our mentoring and training of the Afghan National Army Air Corps, it is just absolutely amazing how fast they will get there."

The Afghan National Army Air Corps' most senior enlisted member, Command Sergeant Major Abdul Malik, invited Chief Roy to his summit to speak on behalf of the U.S. Air Force Dec. 6.

Chief Roy said they are very excited about that and he intends to speak on the commitment of the U.S. Air Force in mentoring and assisting with the development of the Afghan National Army Air Corps.

"We are doing a lot of things within our Air Force and our Airmen are just doing simply amazing things," he said.

The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force explained that as the Air Force moves forward, many of today's young Airmen are being deployed and receiving experiences that many senior enlisted Airmen have not had. This, he said, will change the dynamics of the future Air Force. Therefore, senior leaders should make sure they are using those experiences to develop Airmen for the future.

"One of the reasons why we are the absolute best Air Force in the world is because of the training that's been afforded to us," he said. "The experiences, the training, the education all go together to make the Air Force Airmen what they are. So, one of the things we'll be looking at is what we'll frame as the deliberate development of Airmen which is very important for what I consider the future of our Air Force."

Chief Roy stressed that every Airman should focus on continuing training, not only on the mission but within themselves as well.

"Another element that we need to focus on is one that I call three pillars," he said.
This included focusing on three elements - standards, missions and taking care of people. Both Airmen and leaders, he said, needed to focus on all three elements with an even balance.