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Air Force Chief of Staff speaks to 386th AEW Airmen

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rachelle Elsea
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz spoke to more than 100 Airmen, civilians and contractors of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing during an all call at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, Nov. 18.

He kicked off his remarks to the group by emphasizing the importance of teamwork and their key roles in supporting the mission.

"We all do something for the Air Force and our country -- naturally, we are proud of what we do and the community we are a part of," said General Schwartz. "But my question for you in this room is: Is any one more valued than another? Is any job in our Air Force more important than another?"

The general made it a point to let everyone know that what they do matters.

"We should be proud of who we are and what we do," said General Schwartz. "I am not diminishing that. But, this is really about a family, a team. Everybody counts and that is how we succeed together."

It is really about what Airmen do together as a team -- that is how the Air Force remains superb and how it collectively serves the nation best, he added.

Schwartz also provided updates on several points of interest, such as the current U.S. economic challenges, force reductions, potential changes in military compensation, Air Expeditionary Forces-Next, and suicide prevention.

"The question is: how will the national debt affect our Air Force," said General Schwartz. "The straight answer is we are going to get smaller. There will probably be fewer airplanes, fewer wings and fewer squadrons. But, the key thing is our approach to it; we would much rather be a smaller, superb Air Force than a larger, average or hollow one."

The Air Force may become smaller, but it is going to be well-trained, properly equipped and motivated, he added.

In terms of force reduction, the general stated that the recent cutbacks for active-duty enlisted members are essentially complete, but there are still reductions to be made in the officer ranks.

"On the officer side, we are still about 700 over," said General Schwartz. "This is not fun stuff; we take no pleasure in it. What we've decided to do is to approach this aggressively, so we could put it behind us so no one has to worry if they'll face involuntary separation kinds of action down the road."

He discussed changes in compensation next.

"Compensation involves three things," said General Schwartz. "It involves salary, medical care for us and our families and it also includes retirement."

He touched mostly on retirement and assured the audience that the changes that may be made in the coming years will likely not affect them. Those service members already serving will most likely be grandfathered and any changes to the system would only impact new recruits.

Next, he spoke on the Air Expeditionary Forces.

"We are going to refine our current AEF construct," said General Schwartz.

The plan is to send fewer Airmen out in "ones and twos" from their bases and start moving units out together, he said. As a result, the benefit of unit cohesion is already built-in instead of trying to establish it at the deployment location.

Finally, General Schwartz discussed suicide prevention and the importance of intervention.

"Over the last four days, the Air Force has had three suicides," said General Schwartz. "If you are under stress, if you are under duress, please seek help. For everyone else, if you see someone who is struggling and who is not inclined to seek help, please intervene. Don't allow a teammate to make a permanent decision like that which cannot be taken back."

This is about the family, he added.

After a question and answer session, the General addressed the crowd one last time.

"We have a special obligation to serve well, to maintain standards, to work hard and to represent the country," he said. "It is a privilege to be on your team and I look forward to continuing to rock and roll together."