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Air Force's top chief visits Scott AFB

  • Published
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILL. --   Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Gerald Murray came to Scott AFB Jan. 22. The CMSAF spent four days at Scott, taking the opportunity to see different areas on the base and visit with the people assigned here.

"Scott AFB has wonderful people; the airmen, the spouses, the civilians -- everyone is very professional," said Chief Murray. "That's the best thing about my job, I get to go to different places and meet some of the greatest people in the world."

The CMSAF served as the guest speaker for the base's Chiefs' Induction ceremony and also discussed current issues at the Airmen Leadership School, the First Term Airmen Center, and with spouses of deployed members at the second Expeditionary Family Town Hall meeting hosted by 375th Airlift Wing Commander Col. Barbara Faulkenberry.

One of the top subjects Chief Murray addressed was the Air and Space Expeditionary Force deployment cycle.

"After AEF Silver is over, the plan is to return our airmen into the 90 days - 15-month deployment rotations; we know that's the ideal," said Chief Murray.

However, he explained that while 90 days is the ideal, there is currently more demand for some career fields than the ability to fill them in a 90-day period. That's why some of those career fields that deployed in AEF Silver for 120 days actually will be deployed for 179 days.

According to Chief Murray, the goal of the 90-day deployment cycles is to give airmen predictability ... knowing deployment dates allows leadership and airmen and their families to be prepared.

The chief explained that cycles differ depending on the career field and how heavily tasked they are in the war against terrorism. Shaping and balancing the force while fighting a war, is extremely challenging, said Chief Murray.

"We have more active duty personnel now than what we are actually funded for," he said. "The Air Force is allowed to have 359,000 active duty personnel and currently there are more than 375,000."

The reason for the overage of people, according to Chief Murray, is that when Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom began, the Department of Defense allowed the Air Force to keep more airmen than it was funded for; now that those operations are over, the numbers have to be lowered.

"We have to take some steps. We have to shape the force to meet the shortfalls and critical capabilities of our Air Force. We will use all the tools that we need to avoid separating an airman involuntarily," said Chief Murray. "The last thing I want to do is to tell an airman who wants to be in the Air Force that we don't want him anymore. We want to make sure we don't send that message."

Service commitment waivers, retraining and allowing officers to commission into the guard or Reserve are some of the tools that will be used while shaping the force.

"The senior leadership is taking care of our airmen and that is the messages we want to send to them as we continue to focus in on aligning our readiness needs with the budgeting process," said Chief Murray.

Chief Murray also talked about his and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. John Jumper's visit with deployed airmen before the Christmas holiday season.

"The airmen's commitment for the mission was incredible; the capabilities and how they conduct their jobs was great. The thing that struck me the most was their attitude. There were no complaints. Their morale was the highest I have seen," said Chief Murray. "Our airmen know that what they are doing is important and that what we are doing is right." According to Chief Murray, even though the airmen are making great sacrifices, the spouses' sacrifices should not go unnoticed.

During Chief Murray's visit, he also commented on the Air Force's new fitness standards and the associated Air Force instruction.

"The new fitness [instruction], AFI 10-248, has been released. I recommend that everyone reads it, especially noncommissioned officers and supervisors," he said. "This is a cultural change, being led by our leadership in our Air Force."

According to Chief Murray, it's not about the assessment; it's not just about changing the culture, it's also about teamwork and maintaining health and fitness.

"Overall I am really pleased to see that our airman have embraced this program," he said.

Chief Murray is the 14th chief master sergeant appointed to the Air Force's highest noncommissioned officer position. A native of Boiling Springs, N.C., he entered the Air Force October 1977.