CMSAF outlines Air Force priorities to Dover Airmen

Published Feb. 19, 2008
By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
436th AW Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- The chief master sergeant of the Air Force outlined the Air Force's primary concerns Feb. 11 to Dover Air Force Base Airmen.

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney J. McKinley told base Airmen that the service's top-three priorities are winning the war on terrorism, taking care of Airmen and families and recapitalizing the aging fleet of Air Force aircraft.

Shortly after Chief McKinley's opening remarks, Airman 1st Class April Hallman of the 436th Aerial Port Squadron was invited to the front of the base theater and recited the Airman's Creed. As Airman Hallman finished each phrase of the creed, every Airman in attendance repeated in unison, until the creed was recited by all.

"Every Airman needs to learn the Airman's Creed," Chief McKinley said, as he described how each Airman memorizes the creed in Basic Military Training. "The professionals at Lackland (AFB, Texas) are doing a fantastic job of instilling warrior ethos in every Airman they graduate.

"The warrior mindset is important," Chief McKinley said. "The right mix of go-get-it attitude and technical competence in their jobs make our Airmen paramount to our nation winning the war on terrorism."

Another point to consider is the aging fleet of Air Force aircraft, Chief McKinley said.

"The Air Force flies daily operations in the oldest planes we've ever had," Chief McKinley said. "With an average age of 24 years old, and some being more than 50 years old, our aircraft are in need of recapitalization. Dover is very lucky to have a fleet of all-modified C-5 (Galaxies) and brand new C-17 (Globemaster IIIs)."

Another extremely important point to consider is taking care of Airmen and their families, Chief McKinley said. Airmen are traditionally great wingmen, and the Air Force is currently looking at many new initiatives to improve the lives of its warfighters and their families.

"As we relocate from base to base and state to state, a lot of times our children end up having to pay out-of-state college tuition, which is very expensive," Chief McKinley said as he described one initiative he recently testified on before Congress. "We owe it to our warfighters and their families to make quality-of-life improvements for them whenever an opportunity presents itself. They deserve nothing less."

Chief McKinley toured Dover AFB and met many young Airmen.

"I just came from the First Term Airman Center where I got the opportunity to speak with a handful of brand-new Airmen," the chief said. "These warriors were fresh from technical training, motivated and ready to hit the ground running."

The type of Airmen they become hinges on the attitude and quality of their peers and supervisors, he said.

"When the Airmen arrive here, we need every first-line supervisor to continue to instill them with discipline and core values," Chief McKinley said. "We are engaged in a global war because we have terrorists all over the world who spend every resource available to them and every last drop of energy they have to disrupt and change our way of life. We need all our Airmen capable and proficient at all times to counteract this threat.

"We have fantastic Airmen joining our ranks each day," Chief McKinley said. "Let us set them on a path to success the moment we receive them into our units. It's the right thing to do for our Airmen; its right for our units and its right for the nation."
"We have fantastic Airmen joining our ranks each day," said Chief McKinley. "Let us set them on a path to success the moment we receive them into our units - it's the right thing to do for our Airmen, its right for our units and its right for the nation."