AMC leadership visits mobility Airmen downrange

Published March 15, 2016
By Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar -- Gen. Carlton Everhart II, Air Mobility Command commander, delivered a message of thanks to Airmen during a visit at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar March 11 - 14.

As the commander of AMC, Everhart is responsible for ensuring the command can provide rapid, global mobility and sustainment for America's armed forces. He thanked more than 500 Airmen for supporting the global mobility mission at an all-call event here March 13.

"We are the world's greatest air power because of you," Everhart said. "You are remarkable, and you get the mission done every day. You do global mobility so well, and we can't thank you enough."

In 2015, more than 20,000 sorties were flown on aircraft departing AUAB. Many of those missions were flown by AMC airframes including the KC-135 Stratotanker, which flew more than 100,000 combat hours and offloaded more than 678 million pounds of fuel.

C-17 Globemaster III aircrews flew more than 1,700 missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in 2015, delivering nearly 24,000 tons of cargo to bases across the AOR.

"You're supporting missions from Europe to Africa," Everhart said. "I hear about the lives you're saving and the impact you're having every single day; you guys are absolutely rocking it."

"You make it happen every day," said Chief Master Sgt. Shelina Frey, AMC command chief. "We know you get tired and frustrated; but you're resilient, and we know you won't falter and you will not fail. We count on you every single day, thank you and thanks to your families for their sacrifices."

During the all-call, Everhart and Frey addressed several focus areas for AMC as the command looks to the future, including maintaining readiness and modernization.

"We have to keep an eye on the future," Everhart said. "We are looking at what's going to replace the C-130, the C-17 and even the KC-46 Pegasus right now, because it takes about 20 years to get through the acquisition process."

"We are also looking at modernizing our command and control systems so our Airmen have the information technology assets needed for the mission," he added.

Ensuring Airmen are ready to support future challenges is also critical, Frey said.

"We have to grow our future force; we have to train like we fight, and we have to train so we're ready to support future missions, like the KC-46," she said. "We know manning is a concern, and we're working to grow the fields that support the KC-135 and KC-10 so we can pull from them and use their expertise to develop the Airmen who will maintain the KC-46."

Applying best practices across the Air Force enterprise is also important, Frey added.

"We need to implement best practices at other bases across the force," she said. "Find out what works well at other bases, especially joint bases, and apply that knowledge here, because in the AOR, you're in a joint environment."

Master Sgt. Tamica Hales, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing superintendent of chapel operations from Brooklyn, New York, said she appreciates Everhart and Frey for taking the time to meet with Airmen.

"They were very sincere and they thanked everyone in the audience several times," she said. "Many times we're told where we can improve and I enjoyed how they let us know we are appreciated for making the mission happen."

Hales also said she plans on sharing what she learned during the all-call with her Airmen.

"It's my responsibility to be here to get answers to my Airmen's questions," she said. "It's important for leadership across the board to be 'in the know' and share information, because it helps people understand their purpose and how they fit into the mission."

During his base visit, Everhart met with Airmen of all ranks, received a 379th Air Expeditionary Wing mission briefing and toured AUAB.

Prior to his base visit, Everhart answered a few questions about the future of air mobility and the challenges facing AMC.