AMC Commander visits Georgia, Florida wings

Published Jan. 8, 2010
By Bekah Clark
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- General Raymond E. Johns Jr., commander of Air Mobility Command, visited the 165th Airlift Wing, the 6th Air Mobility Wing and the 927th Air Refueling Wing to continue his efforts to view the air mobility mission "through the eyes of the Airmen."

General Johns, who took the seat as AMC commander in late November, has made experiencing firsthand what AMC's Airmen accomplish on a daily basis to make the mission happen his top priority.

The 165th AW in Savannah, Ga., which provides tactical and strategic airlift for all military forces, equipment and supplies using the C-130H aircraft, served as the general's first stop on his visit.

During the general's time with the 165th AW he received a wing mission brief and tour, where he learned that the unit's Airmen and aircraft have flown nearly nine thousand hours and more than 5500 sorties since 2003.

The general lauded the unit for maintaining a mission capability rate of more than 92 percent even though need increased by 30 percent.

The general also spent time discussing the challenges, successes and future of the 165th AW with wing leadership.

The general's second and final stop on the tour was to MacDill AFB where he visited both the 6th AMW and the 927th ARW, who joined together in April 2008 to create an Active-Reserve Associate arrangement. Through the hard work of the Airmen in both wings, this Total Force Integration, or TFI, benchmark was completed six months earlier than scheduled.

The 927th ARW earned an Outstanding Unit Award for maintaining mission capability, flying more than two thousand hours and keeping more than 140 people on long-term orders, all while standing up the unit ahead of schedule.

The partnership of the two wing's maintenance shops have even earned the 2009 Secretary of Defense's Maintenance Award.

"It is great to see two wings brought together," said General Johns about the seamless merger of the 6 AMW and 927 ARW. "It is necessary to preserve the richness of guard, reserve and active duty."

While at MacDill, the general received tours of the air traffic control tower, the maintenance hangar, the medical group, and officer and enlisted housing areas. General Johns also spent time getting to know a group of Airmen over breakfast.

Though each of the wings visited by General Johns falls under the AMC umbrella, all wings and their missions are unique, and the time spent getting to learn from the Airmen at Savannah and MacDill was worthwhile.

In the nearly two months at AMC, General Johns has pursued his priority of seeing the mission through the eyes of the Airmen and has visited eight Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve bases along the East Coast, the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J, as well as an extensive tour throughout deployed areas.