Southwest Asia -- I have always liked coming to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.

More than just a change in geography, it always seemed to be a change in mind set. The tent cities and lack of lights, coupled with flying and maintenance operations spread out from the Lima fingers to the hammerhead gave the place a real expeditionary feel. It was almost like living on the set of the 1970s TV series, "MASH". I always felt that the rugged living and working condition helped us focus on the real world nature of the mission here.

Then, as today, we provided United States Air Forces Central Command's only high-altitude Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions as well as the bulk of the theater's aerial refueling. Then, like today, many of our brothers in arms depended on us meeting the Air Tasking Order without ever knowing 380th aircraft were overhead.

Two weeks ago, when I arrived back here after a few years away, I was amazed at the changes time, money and hard work have brought. I had known Phantom East only as a sea of dust and construction equipment. It was an area no was allowed to enter "By Order of the Commander."

We now no longer live, eat and work out of tents but out of trailers, many with indoor plumbing. The hydrants on the Tango ramp now pump over 1.5 million pounds of jet fuel a day.

Lastly, the wing has undertaken a mission expansion with the E-3C AWACS replacing the KC-135 Stratotanker. My first morning here, I was stunned to see buildings instead of tents, the paved roads and the rocks instead of dirt. Frankly, I wondered if the transition from visibly expeditionary to this low-frills enduring environment made it more difficult for us to connect with the mission.

I did not need to worry. In the 10 days since my arrival here, I have seen a commitment to the mission that equals or surpasses that of the past. Airmen of all ranks and in all groups are attacking their jobs with focus and professionalism.

Every morning at wing stand up, the senior leadership reviews how our ISR missions contributed to the ground forces situational awareness, how our tankers refueled strike aircraft to perform armed over watch and how our AWACS directed critical in-country sorties to ensure lethal air combat power was focused where it was most needed. At my first weekly retreat ceremony, we read the roll of American service men and women who sacrificed their lives in the defense of our nation. These touchstones, and many others, keep us tied to the operational mission despite the changes.

And there are going to be a lot more changes. The Air Force will be here for a long time, our beloved sheet metal trailers will gradually give way to brick and mortar buildings. The hard work we do here will set the conditions for this transformation and each day we will add a little more combat capability. Whether it is adding bigger communications pipes or figuring how to safely perform KC-10 fuel cell maintenance we will make this base more and more like the Air Force Bases we know back home. I even see a day in the distant future when the Mission Support Group building has its own running water. As these changes happen, we must continue to establish traditions that keep us close to the combat effects produced by our aircrews and aircraft. We must work hard to maintain an unmatched commitment to combat excellence.