CSAF visits Grand Forks Airmen; speaks at UAS summit

Published June 1, 2010
By Tech. Sgt. Joseph Kapinos
319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The Air Force chief of staff visited the "Warriors of the North" May 21, as part of a trip to North Dakota to speak to both Airmen and aviation industry leaders.

Gen. Norton Schwartz hosted an Airmen's Call for the 319th Air Refueling Wing before heading downtown to be the keynote speaker at the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Action Summit.

At both events, he stressed the importance of remotely piloted aircraft to the Air Force mission.

"The virtually insatiable appetite for potentially, game-changing capability at the moment primarily in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance roles," General Schwartz said to the crowd of aviation professionals, congressional members and dignitaries attending the UAS Action Summit. "And Global Hawk is the leading edge of that effort."

General Schwartz also illustrated the impact these systems have on the warfighter on the ground.

"Now with UASs flying above the battlefield, our troops can have information about what is around the corner, over the wall before they move," General Schwartz said.

"They can still do it without that, but why would we ask them to?" he asked.

General Schwartz also highlighted the importance of Grand Forks AFB in overseas contingency operations as the mission progresses from tanker operations to remotely piloted vehicles, especially since the base will be the one of the home bases for the Global Hawk fleet.

This was a salient point for the Airmen at the base as well. At the Airmen's Call earlier in the day the general the spoke about the base's transition from KC-135 Stratotankers to Global Hawks.

"I am with you," he said, calling the departure of the tankers "a sentimental event." "There have been tankers at Grand Forks for a very long time - but now is the time to shift to the new mission, the remotely piloted aircraft mission."

The general lauded the base's ability to accept the new mission. "The combination of facilities and community support that is present here is rare and one I certainly recognize."

General Schwartz stressed the importance of every Airman to the Air Force team. He asked the audience if one Airman was of more or less value than his wingman based on what he did in the Air Force.

"I don't think so," General Schwartz said. "Because the truth of the matter is for our team to succeed, everybody has to play their position. And so in our Air Force, everybody counts."

The general also congratulated the Grand Forks Company Grade Officer Council for being named Air Force CGOC of the year.