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BLOG: AMC commander thanks employers of MAF Citizen Airmen

  • Published
  • By AMC Blog
  • Hq. AMC Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Did you know that at any given time, thousands of Guard and Reserve Airmen are called to duty supporting Mobility Air Forces' (MAF) operations around the world?

The fact is, this command could not do all the amazing things we do each and every day without the outstanding support of our Citizen Airmen who, alongside their active-duty counterparts, drop everything, pack their bags, and travel sometimes half way around the world to support air mobility operations.

Guard and Reserve aircrews fly about 30 percent of our Tanker Airlift Control Center-tasked missions and they fill more than one-third of all AMC deployment taskings.

Whether it's a Reserve Aeromedical Evacuation team providing en route medical care for our wounded warriors, or Guardsmen processing cargo and passengers at one of our many worldwide en route locations, or a Citizen Airman pulling duty with one of our AMC Contingency Response Groups ... our Air Reserve Component forces continue to provide substantial support to our global mission; they make us more effective.

But there's another piece of the puzzle that's often overlooked. Our outstanding Citizen Airmen could not do what they do without the support of their civilian employers; something the commander of Air Mobility Command wants to make abundantly clear.

In a message to Mobility Air Forces (MAF) commanders this week, Gen. Raymond E. Johns Jr. highlighted the significant efforts of our deployed and deployed-in-place Citizen Airmen, and asked them for their help in thanking their employers, too.

"As we draw the President's Plus Up in Afghanistan to a close, I want each of you to know how much I appreciate the contributions from the Total Force," said General Johns. "I am especially proud of how our deployed and deployed-in-place Citizen Airmen have stepped up to the plate when called to duty. Their significant contributions for this effort and for global operations day-in and day-out are essential to mobility operations.

"I understand that the call to duty can often be difficult for our Airmen, their families, and their employers," the general added. "As [Chief Master Sgt. David Spector, AMC Command Chief] and I have traveled to bases inside and outside of the [U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility], we've made it a point to thank the Guard and Reserve Airmen and their families. Now, I would like to thank the third part of the Guard/Reserve triad -- the civilian employer -- for their support and sacrifice."

-- AMC Public Affairs