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Warriors of the North host AF Chief of Staff & Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. David Dobrydney
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, his wife, Betty, and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody visited the Airmen of the 319th Air Base Wing November 25 and 26.

The majority of their brief time on base was spent visiting and talking with Airmen and their leaders.

"This is a great time to be a leader in our Air Force," Welsh said to a gathering of unit commanders and superintendents.

Welsh described how the Air Force has defined and redefined itself throughout its history, and said that it is now undergoing another shift. However, he stressed, the Air Force must always strive to be "capable, credible and viable."

To meet that goal, Welsh described how the Air Force at the federal level is focusing on modernization in order to be ready when the nation calls on it.

"You have to invest today in order to have the capability ten years from now," he said.

Both Welsh and Cody called on the leaders in the room to take care of the Airmen they supervise.

"Keep them proud of what they do," Welsh urged. "Our young Airmen are brilliant, and we need to learn from them."

Cody added while the Air Force faces challenges in the modern era, he is confident they will be overcome.

"We will continue to be great because we have leaders like you," he said.

Welsh and Cody were briefed on every facet of the 319th Air Base Wing mission and those of their tenant units and community partners during a "Focused on Innovation" expo.

Welsh listened intently and asked probing questions about work ranging from the High-Frequency Global Communications System to the studies on unmanned aerial systems being undertaken at the nearby University of North Dakota.

Welsh said he was awed at what he called a 'nexus' of UAS operations in the area.

"Everyone is coming together and leading the world," he said. "This enterprise is only going to get stronger and more robust."

Cody also took some time to tour the "Tunnel of Oppression," a special project operated by the 319th Logistics Readiness Squadron which explores topics ranging from drug abuse to domestic violence.

Cody praised the Airmen who volunteered to tell their personal stories as part of the project.

"It's easy to think this isn't a problem," Cody said to one Airman who spoke about her experience as a victim of domestic violence. "But when someone shares their story, you can't deny, you can't walk away."

Cody presented coins to each member of the project team.

"We could throw a ton of money at this and it wouldn't make it any better or more powerful," he said. "I can't thank you enough for doing this."

The Airmen who spoke with Cody came away very impressed.

"When you hear the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force is coming, you can get a little nervous," said Airman 1st Class Jared Scheel, 319th LRS vehicle maintenance and analysis, "but you can tell he cares about you as a person."

About 100 guests also attended a civic leader function Monday night, including North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Drew Wrigley, Senator John Hoeven, honorary commanders and other members of the community.

Base ambassador John Marshall presented Welsh with a gift from the community, thanking the general for his continued service.

Both Welsh and Cody said they were honored to visit Grand Forks.

Welsh thanked the community for welcoming, "Airmen into their homes and into their hearts."

The two senior leaders addressed the entire Wing at an all-call and stressed how the Air Force needs to always be ready to fight and win when asked. In order to do that, Welsh said, people need to be taken care of through common sense, communication and caring.

"The mission changes awfully fast, and no one knows that better than you," Welsh told about 1,000 Airmen in the hangar. "Figure out where you are wasting time and change it."

Communication was discussed as Welsh and Cody described the myriad ways information can be spread and how important it is that Airmen in the lowest ranks receive it.

"What isn't acceptable is 'not knowing' why decisions are made," he said.

To address the final 'C,' caring, Welsh told a story about an NCO who he thought he had come to know while stationed in South Korea. But Welsh said he wasn't aware the young NCO was at a crucial point in his life - he wasn't going to get custody of his daughter - until a technical sergeant who had only been with the squadron a few days brought it to Welsh's attention.

When Welsh explained that he was able to help the NCO, the audience began to applaud.

But Welsh questioned the audience: Why didn't he know about the situation before it turned into a crisis, he asked.

"If you don't know the story, you can't lead the Airman," Welsh said. "It's that simple."

Welsh illustrated his points in other ways. He called on one random Airman in the audience, Airman 1st Class James Vasquez, and asked about the Airman's job: outbound assignments.

"When we're in a wartime situation and people are standing in front of your desk. Who is more important at that moment, you or me?" Welsh asked.

The Airmen hesitated before Welsh gave him the answer. "It's you," Welsh said as he told Vasquez, and by extension the whole audience, to never forget how important one person can be to their organization, no matter what it is.

The general's comments drew positive reaction from the crowd.

"I appreciated the general's words because I felt he was honest about what the service's top priority is. In other words, I was glad he kept it real," said Airman 1st Class Kevin Ramos, from the 319th Logistics Readiness Squadron.

Ramos was referring to the part in the address when Welsh stated, "Our number one priority in the Air Force is not taking care of people. It's winning wars; however, we are smart enough to recognize that we cannot win the wars if our people aren't taken care of. We owe it to our nation, to be an Air Force it can turn to in a time of need and know it can get the job done."

Welsh concluded his address by once again thanking the Airmen for their hard work and repeated how exciting it is for him to see them in action, with one final word of advice.
"Take care of yourselves and each other."

(Additional information for this story was provided by Staff Sgt. Luis Loza-Gutierrez)