SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Chief Master Sgt. Joseph Montgomery, U.S. Air Forces Central Command command chief, visited the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Monday at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

Montgomery, who finished up Tuesday morning, started his visit with a tour of the installation, led by 386th AEW command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Pachasa. The tour highlighted 386th mission sets and ongoing quality of life improvement projects, such as the currently underway tents-to-trailers project. Montgomery also visited coalition partners on the base.

Following the tour, Montgomery had lunch at the 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron’s Desert Winds dining facility with a group of 386th Airmen, representing a cross-section of career fields on the base. Montgomery led a discussion about key issues that will impact airmen in the AOR, ranging from upcoming changes to the AFCENT supplement to Air Force instruction 36-2903, dress and appearance manual, to the geopolitical climate of the region.

"It was really good to be able to pick his brain a bit," said Senior Airman Manuel Mendoza, a 386th Expeditionary Medical Group medical technician. "It was a great opportunity to get some feedback from him and learn a bit more about how things work here in AFCENT."

Following the lunch with airmen, Montgomery visited the 386th Expeditionary Operations, Mission Support, Maintenance and Medical groups, to recognize top performing airmen.

Montgomery finished his day by attending the monthly promotion and awards ceremony in the base theater, where he joined 386th AEW Commander Col. Stephen Hodge and Pachasa in recognizing newly promoted airmen.

“Thank you for what you do every day, I need each and every one of you at your best,” said Montgomery, “What you’re doing here is important to the nation and the world, so please make sure you’re taking care of each other and yourself.”