Commander’s Call focuses on ‘Strength in Unity’

  • Published
  • By 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla --  Holding his first Commander's Call, Col. David P. Garfield, 482nd Fighter Wing commander, shared his leadership approach for the wing, uniting members and empowering them to accomplish the Air Force mission.

During the Commander's Call, Garfield showed a presentation that detailed the concepts of Strength in Unity. Strength in Unity is achieved through Air Force Core Values, Unifying Principles, and Behavioral Ideals.

"My purpose is to strengthen you," Garfield said. "We make an impact on our morale and in our trust, and we do that by being unified."

"I have a belief that you're all here to serve one purpose and that purpose is to protect and defend this nation," he said. "You wouldn't be coming out here unless you believed in the goodness of what you are doing here."

As detailed in the presentation, unifying principles include educating, motivating and innovating people.

"It's one thing to inspect and tell them what's wrong, it's another to teach them to do it right the first time," Garfield said. "You can motivate by talking the talk, and walking the walk."

Behavioral ideas of love, care and respect are all interchangeable, just depends on the situation, he explained. Keeping these concepts in your belief system can help us all start to achieve Strength in Unity.

Along with sharing his leadership vision, he discussed how his background as an Air Combat Command team leader impacted his perception of Team Homestead.

"When I came here, had my walkabouts and immersions, what I found was that you have exceeded my expectations," he said. "ACC inspection chief, I would see the best of everyone's customs and courtesies. To be honest with you, you have exceeded even that. What I have found with how open and friendly you all are, I can sense a pulse, a wing, which has high expectations and you live up to those."

Located on the Air Force Portal are links to the Air Force Vision and Mission, along with the Air Force Reserve's newly released Vision Update, which emphasizes the responsivity of Reservists to educate and advocate for the capability the Reserve provides to the Air Force.

Garfield highlighted how the wing contributes to the overall 'big blue' AF mission, especially the enlisted core.

"The biggest message to the enlisted core, E-1 - E-7, is that you have a heavy burden," he said. "I will give guidance to supervisors, there will be leadership/officer requirements, but in order for us to get to where we need to go, it's going to come from you. Everyone has a part to play, and that part is to be agile and inclusive."

By being inclusive of everyone and everything, the wing is better postured to perform the Air Force mission, he added. 
From the Reserve Vision, Garfield emphasized Citizen Airmen to work to keep a healthy balance between civilian and military jobs along with family time.

"As both a strategic and operational force, the Reserves are going to be called upon and called upon even more in the future to support the Air Force," he said. "When it comes to having a mindset that's ready, it isn't just one weekend, two weeks a year. It's being ready all the time."