Chief master sergeant of the Air Force visits Joint Base Balad

Published Dec. 8, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Jake Richmond
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy visited the base Dec. 4, 2009, to talk to Airmen and survey various missions.

The chief, whose visit marked one stop among many throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, received raucous applause upon his arrival at a morning Airmen's call. He noted that there are about 200,000 Airmen currently employed by combatant commands around the world, and he stressed to enlisted leaders three priorities: First, take care of the mission; second, take care of your people; and third, comply with standards.

In an interview at the end of his visit, Chief Roy shared his thoughts on Airmanship, emphasized the importance of Air Force families, and provided career advice to Airmen.

Question: Senior Air Force leadership, yourself included, has been talking about this concept of "Airmanship." How would you define it?

Chief Roy: Airmanship is one of those things that's defined as what we do as Airmen -- how we're developed and how we conduct ourselves out there amongst our joint and coalition teams. As I've traveled around the world and visited many different air forces, it's a common theme across all air forces. But unlike other air forces, the United States Air Force, I believe, has it right on target.

Question: This is the "Year of the Air Force Family." Why, now, is it so important to recognize the family, and what do you hope to gain through this initiative?

Chief Roy: Obviously, this year, Secretary Donley and the chief of staff have designated this year as the "Year of the Air Force Family." It's significant and important to understand and recognize the absolute sacrifices that our men and women and their families endure each and every day. Although American citizens may appreciate it, they'll never fully understand all the sacrifices. So, therefore, we have to have something to help recognize those programs that help our Airmen each and every day and their families. So, that's the reason we designated this as Year of the Air Force Family.

Question: This is your first trip through the AFCENT area of operations as the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force--what are your impressions?

Chief Roy: I am absolutely impressed with the caliber of all of our servicemembers -- all of our Airmen, our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and our coalition forces. The teamwork that I see, the general commonality of what the mission is, the absolute focus of what our Airmen and other servicemembers are doing is just spot-on. We're focused and on-target every time.

Question: Chief, if there could be only one thing, what would you most like Airmen to get out of their time in the Air Force?

Chief Roy: If there's one thing I would like every Airman to understand out of their time in the Air Force, whether that is that first four years of enlistment, whether that's somebody who's coming up on their 30 years of enlistment, it's to fully understand and appreciate how much we, as America, depend on them and how appreciative we are of their many sacrifices.