USAFCENT commander visits Creech

Published Jan. 21, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Alice Moore
432d Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

CREECH AFB, Nev. -- The commander of U.S. Air Forces Central visited Creech Jan. 13 to get a first-hand look at MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aircraft Systems operations and thank Airmen assigned here for their contributions to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This was Lt. Gen. Gary North's first visit to Creech since the 432d Wing was also designated as the 432d Air Expeditionary Wing in May 2008.

General North said the mission and the efforts of the Airmen assigned to the 432d AEW are vital to the Global War on Terrorism.

"From my perspective the Airmen of the 432d AEW are the finest in the world," General North said. "I've seen them in the AOR (Area of Responsibility) and today I had the opportunity to see 432d Airmen fly in combat operations from Creech. What the Airmen do here day-in and day-out is absolutely incredible."

The USAFCENT commander also said thanks to the Airmen assigned to the 432d AEW for a job well done.

"One of the reasons I wanted to come to Creech was to say thank you. I also want to say thanks from all the forces on the ground, that include the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who are integrating our Air Power with both the Predator and the Reaper."

He also wanted to say that the Airmen here are doing a phenomenal job and their performance does not go unnoticed.

"Our Airmen here, to include the aviators, sensor operators, maintainers, intelligence Airmen, support Airmen, and our total force partners in the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserves, should be proud of what they're doing and how they're doing it because all of the senior leadership in CENTCOM (Central Command) are proud of this mission here and how well our Airmen perform. "

During his visit, General North said that a key challenge for the Predator and Reaper community is developing the total picture and total requirements to meet the increasing Combat Air Patrol (CAP) requirements.

"One key challenge is being able to grow the systems (Predator/Reaper). There's a lot of talk about the number of CAPs. What isn't discussed is the back end of those CAPs,"

General North said. "We (senior leadership) spend a lot of time explaining the size of the requirements to accomplish that mission-set so that the total picture is developed before those required CAPs can go forward."

General North said the Predator and Reaper mission is nothing short of a success story.
"I'm proud of what the Airmen at Creech bring to the fight and the distributed operations. The Airmen here are a key part of the integration of unmanned weapons systems into manned weapons systems," General North said. "As we move forward in the future and the Airmen of the 432d AEW continue to fly in the AOR, they're writing history. When the book of records is written, the Predators and Reapers that seek out the enemy with deadly persistence and are overhead of our ground forces, will be a huge success story in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The 432d has dual responsibilities in which it operates as a Wing and Air Expeditionary Wing, and is the only dual-hatted unit as both a Wing and an AEW located in the U.S. The unit consists of combat-ready Airmen who fly the MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9 Reaper aircraft to support United States and Coalition warfighters. The 432d also is responsible for the initial qualification training for aircrew, intelligence, weather, and maintenance personnel for the Predator and Reaper. The 432d Wing falls under 12th Air Force and the 432d Air Expeditionary Wing falls under U.S. Air Forces Central.