CMSAF visits Kandahar Airfield

Published June 30, 2010
By Tech. Sgt. Renni Thornton
451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The American Provincial Reconstruction Team in Zabul hosted Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy during a foot patrol in Qalat city to visit a girls high school and local merchants June 27.

The visit to Zabul was part of a two-day trip to southern Afghanistan, during which Chief Roy also attended a dinner with Afghan Air Force officials and visited Airmen at Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

PRTs in Afghanistan are relatively small joint civil-military units developed to achieve three objectives: improve security, extend the authority of the Afghan central government, and facilitate reconstruction. Comprised primarily of Airmen and Soldiers, the team in Zabul shared some of the triumphs and challenges since their arrival the past few months.

During the foot patrol, Chief Roy had the opportunity to see the progress made at the girls high school, which opened in February. Since the opening, school officials have planted new sod, installed a new playground and established a working vegetable garden.

Along the way, Lt. Col. Erik Goepner, commander, PRT Zabul, took the CMSAF to a bakery where he was immediately swarmed by several small boys.

After visiting the two areas, Chief Roy headed back to the compound for a roundtable discussion with Airmen.

Chief Roy shared with the group that Air Force leadership sees the value and hard work in what they do. He also discussed plans to position more PRTs around Afghanistan.

Chief Roy also had a chance to talk with the Airmen there about deployments and training records.

"I have asked leaders to take a good look at how we maintain training records," Chief Roy said. "Some career fields use one database while others use a different one. I would like to see everyone use the same system, standardizing the process for everyone.," said Chief Roy.

Chief Roy also discussed drawdown force management, training and deployment issues with more than 20 Airmen at the compound.

"We have many Airmen in career fields who are at a one-to-one dwell ratio, and there are others who are at a less than one-to-one dwell. What is most important is making sure we are properly preparing Airmen for the fight... taking care of them once they reach the deployed location."

A one-to-one dwell rate means that an Airman may be deployed for six months, home for six months.

Making sure Airmen are properly trained and equipped before stepping foot in the area of responsibility is an issue the chief said he is passionate about.

"We have to send them to the right combat skills training," he said. "It's important that when Airmen process through the system, they are equipped properly for the mission
they are going to execute in theater."

Another way of taking care of Airmen is making sure the families left behind are well informed and have resources available to them.

"I want to thank the family members of all the deployed Airmen today. They are making huge sacrifices every day."

The visit to the PRT in Zabul followed a June 26 dinner hosted by Maj. Gen. Abdul Raziq Sherzai, commander, Kandahar Air Wing, Afghan Air Force. The event provided a unique opportunity to visit with U.S. Air Force Airmen and allow them to visit with Afghan Airmen as well.

Members of the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group work as trainers and mentors to the Afghan Air Force, KAW.

After the meal, all the Airmen participated in a discussion with Chief Roy and more than 10 Afghan Airmen. Topics discussed included job skills and tour lengths.

"It seems you all each have more in common than you may have thought before today. You all share some of the same skills and face some of the same challenges," said Chief Roy.

He also said partnering with the Afghans and assisting them with learning more is the right step for us. He applauded all Airmen serving in the air advisory roles.

"I am extremely proud of our Airmen today."

Chief Roy last visited KAF in November 2009. During that trip, he said he was impressed with the partnership between the U.S Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, then known as the Afghan National Army Air Corps.

"I am very proud of what you all do every day. We are helping them build their capacity to be able to have a professional air force, as we know it, and the hard work has helped them become an air force."

He said as the mission grows in Afghanistan, the Air Force and Airmen will continue to build the capacity of the nation. "Those of you serving in advisor roles are filling a very important role," he said.

The Afghan National Army Air Corps officially became an air force June 14, said Chief Roy.

"To get to know our people more is good. We are learning all the time from each other," said General Sherzai. "Anytime you get to learn more about my people, we learn more about you too and we all grow and learn," he said.

General Sherzai has invited Chief Roy to visit whenever he is in the area.