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18th Air Force leadership visits Fairchild

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sean Campbell
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Lt. Gen. Sam Cox, 18th Air Force commander, saw the hard work mobility Airmen are doing day in and day out during a visit to Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, May 4-6, 2016.

Cox was joined by his wife, Tammy, and Chief Master Sgt. Todd S. Petzel, 18th AF command chief. 

During his visit, Cox flew on a KC-135 Stratotanker, held a wing all call, met with several base helping agencies and recognized some of Fairchild's star performers, including Airmen from the 92nd Air Refueling Wing staff, 92nd Maintenance Group, 92nd Medical Group and the 92nd Mission Support Group.

"The current operational pace is pretty high. It's going to stay that way because that is what our nation needs," Cox said. "We are always in a transitional period, making sure we are growing the Airmen who can continue to do the job into the future. That's the expectation, that we bring very bright intelligent young men and women and have an environment that allows them to progress into great Airmen."

Mrs. Cox visited numerous facilities on base focusing on Airmen and their families.

"In order to take care of the mission, we need to take care of our families," she said. "All of these different organizations on base enable a better quality of life for our military families, which allows our Airmen to do their jobs well. My husband always talks about the importance of the programs provided because when you lose them, you lose our culture and the family aspect of the military."

Petzel met with many Airmen across Fairchild and shared some words of wisdom with classes from the Airmen Leadership School and First Term Airmen Center.  

Being a good leader and noncommissioned officer means doing the best you can do, Petzel told the students. As you progress through your careers, knowing your people and helping them grow is vitally important, he said.

Cox closed out his visit with a firefighter presentation, a crew chief presentation and lunch with Airmen, where he answered questions and spoke to them about their role and how it fits into the Air Mobility Command and 18th Air Force mission.

"Each and every Airman at Fairchild, and across our Air Force, contributes in a significant way to the overall operation," he said. "Sometimes it's the airplane that is out there flying--but if the aircrew is not capable, medically qualified and fit to do the mission, they are not able to perform the mission. How they get fed, lodging, maintenance on the airplane--all these things come together. What you see is an airplane, but in reality it's the totality of the entire force that has come together to get that plane off the ground to do the mission."