Guard and Reserve wings, Expeditionary Center first stops for new AMC commander

Published Dec. 3, 2009
By Bekah Clark
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Only 10 days after taking the seat as the commander of Air Mobility Command, General Raymond E. Johns, Jr., set out to visit East Coast Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve wings from Nov. 30 through Dec. 2.

"My first priority is to get out and see the mission through the eyes of our Airmen" said General Johns, who leads a team of more than 130,000 personnel including more than 76,000 Air Force Reserve and Guard professionals.

The trip kicked off with a visit to the future home of the Air Force's new C-27J mission, the 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield, Ohio. Notably, the 179th AW is currently participating in a direct support test mission in Iraq and will send its first crew to begin C-27J training later this month.

General Johns' next stop was Pittsburgh, PA, to see the 911th Airlift Wing which is home to one of the first squadrons fully qualified in the Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS). While in Pittsburgh, he also had the opportunity to tour the 171st Air Refueling Wing, commonly referred to as the "busiest tanker unit in the Air National Guard."

"Our partnership with the Guard and Reserve makes the mission possible. The men and women of the 911th and 171st are a great example of that," he said. "We simply could not be effective without them. Whether it's working together to streamline and share manpower, infrastructure, aircraft, or equipment, the Guard and Reserve enable us to conduct the mission more effectively."

He spent the second day of the trip learning about the mission and contributions of the Airmen assigned to the 914th and 107th Airlift Wings in Niagara Falls, NY, one of the earliest tactical airlift associations between Guard and Reserve. The 107th and 914th Maintenance Groups recently received the highest score in Air Force Reserve Command's history on a Maintenance Standardization and Evaluation Program inspection conducted in July 2009 earning a score of 98.9 percent.

General Johns rounded out the day with a visit to the 439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass. The 3,100 military and civilian workers assigned to Westover are responsible for providing worldwide air movement of troops, supplies, and equipment. In the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 11 Airmen from Westover's Airlift Control Flight deployed to Iraq and paved the way for inbound AMC missions by helping open the airfield at Baghdad International Airport.

General Johns began the third day of his trip at the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y. The 105th has deployed 5,127 Airmen in support of national and state missions and flies three weekly missions in support of ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan by delivering equipment and people to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibilty. To date, the 105th AW has also transported more than 25 million pounds of cargo and nearly 9,000 passengers in support of OIF and OEF.

The new commander's last stop was to meet the men and women of the 157th Air Refueling Wing at Pease AFB, N.H., where a new active duty associate unit, the 64th Air Refueling Squadron, stood up in October as a part of the Air Force's Total Force Integration (TFI) initiative. The Air Force's TFI initiative utilizes partnerships between the active duty, Guard, and Reserve to increase mission efficiency. This is accomplished through a more resourceful use of aircraft and Airmen which improves the Air Force's ability to meet combatant commander requirements. Traditionally thought of as only affecting the flying mission, these partnerships are taking place across the full spectrum of support functions to include intelligence, logistics, security forces, contingency response groups, and maintenance operations.

"We're leveraging ARC personnel and aircraft wherever possible," said General Johns. "ARC aircrews fly 29 percent of the missions to meet AMC's mobility requirements. Additionally, the ARC fills about one-third of deployments and backfills nearly 6,000 positions at home for our deployed active duty members."

Concluding his series of visits was a stop at the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center to witness the Air Force's combat support training and education program. Annually, the Expeditionary Center provides 17,000 Airmen in-depth, hands-on training specifically tailored to upcoming deployments.

Among the many Airmen who credit their Expeditionary Center training for saving their life is Capt. Wendy Kosek. Captain Kosek is an Air Force legal officer who was struck by an improvised explosive device while deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, this past August. In a recent note of thanks to the Expeditionary Center she said, "your time and your effort helped save my life and it means a tremendous amount to me, and I know it means a tremendous amount to other Airmen to have received that training."

Following his visit to the East Coast, General Johns is planning a trip to Southwest Asia. "I have a lot to relearn," General Johns said. This trip includes numerous stops that will enable him to visit, listen and learn directly from Airmen stationed overseas and deployed in support of on-going operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.