HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. -- This past weekend Homestead Air Reserve Base hosted the Chief of Air Force Reserve and Commander, Air Force Reserve Command, Lt. Gen. Maryanne Miller and Chief Master Sgt. Erika Kelly, Command Chief, AFRC.
What they saw in every Airman they met, was a winner. I saw it too. A Senior Airman showing winning customs and courtesies, noncommissioned officers professionally sharing why they are known as the “backbone of the Air Force,” and senior NCOs proudly explaining processes. Our enlisted corps is second to none and our AFRC leadership saw that this weekend.
They also saw company grade officers and field grade officers skillfully supervising at every level and commanders leading in a professional fashion that showed confidence and trust in their squadrons as they accomplished the mission.
The general and chief were well impressed. I iterated that what they saw was not pushed up for their benefit, we did not put on a “dog and pony” show pretending to be something we are not. But they knew that and could see the genuine motivation and love in what the Airmen of the 482nd Fighter Wing are doing.
I’d like to thank everyone involved for the many months of work that have brought the wing to this level and for the opportunity our AFRC leadership had to see that. They saw we are winners. That we’ve adopted the wing culture of winning on purpose and winning with a purpose!
Like I say, we don’t win by accident. We cannot win if we don’t believe. I believe in this wing, its Airmen, and its mission. This weekend I saw that belief in everyone we encountered. As did Lt. Gen. Miller and Chief Kelly from the moment they stepped off the plane until they departed.
We have high standards. We do not apologize for hard work. We expect our Airmen to struggle, strain, and to raise their efforts. We don’t do this alone, we do it as a team, as a family.
General Miller and Chief Kelly visited shops, viewed our squadrons firsthand, and attended the wing’s annual awards ceremony and at every stopover they saw us doing what we do best.
They extended their congratulations to those nominated and selected as annual award winners. I’d like to take a moment and also thank those nominees and winners for the work, dedication, and contributions they’ve made to the wing’s mission that made their nomination possible.
But I challenge them, and you, to continue to mentor, share, and motivate others to do the same.
All of us need to turn around and see if anyone is lagging, if anyone is untrained, or unmotivated, or stressed by family or other issues, then put our hand out and bring them up to where we are.
When we pay it forward and educate, motivate, and innovate—we get stronger, better, faster.
We’ve grown to have passion for each other and we refuse to give anything but our best because we don’t want to let each other down. We don’t apologize for hard work, we expect our teammates to stress and strain for the mission and it shows.
Our Operation Freedom Sentinel results were phenomenal and the current Reserve Component Period efforts are nothing less than superb!
Last year, the wing leadership identified that we needed to weave the components of commitment, belief, agility, communication, effort, and trust into a winning system by design. We were going to strike a balance throughout those components to produce a winning culture, promote pride, establish an attitude of excellence, ensure sound behavior, and then get out of the way to watch with extreme satisfaction all the mighty deeds our Airmen would accomplish.
Have we accomplished this? We have! Lt. Gen. Miller and Chief Kelly were impressed. They said we are doing it right and doing great things here. The mantra of the “World's Greatest” isn't a cliché - it’s for real! Now, we have to continue to live by it, through it, and with it! Don’t get caught from behind!