Total Force is “all in” at Kirtland AFB

  • Published
  • By Brig. Gen. Everett Thomas
  • Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center commander
Kirtland Air Force Base, NM --  A few weeks ago, I addressed the annual meeting of the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Red Cross, to say thanks for their support to those of us in uniform and those who love us. As they celebrated their accomplishments of the previous year, I was surprised to learn they had handled more than 2,400 calls for support to military service members and their families. After all, there's no base in Cincinnati or serviced directly in the region. As our Nation continues to engage in combat overseas, it wasn't that they provided help that surprised me - it was the volume.

Their answer was profound: the Nation goes to war as a Total Force, so every community is affected - every community is "all in."

This week, I had the chance to say 'thank you' again - this time to our neighbors, partners and friends in the New Mexico National Guard, with that Cincinnati experience fresh in my mind. The Guard and Reserve are integral parts of the Air Force team; especially today, with humanitarian and disaster relief, border security and continuing combat operations. Even knowing that, some might be surprised to learn how indebted the Air Force Nuclear Weapon Center is to the Total Force - especially the New Mexico National Guard - in our mission supporting nuclear deterrence and being premier nuclear stewards.

The Air Force Secretary and Chief have made reinvigorating and strengthening the nuclear enterprise our Service's top priority. As part of that guidance, they directed the enhancement of the AFNWC's authority and resources. For the Center, that meant growing from single-digit numbers to several hundred people in very short order. It takes time to recruit, hire and in-process new people, and we were on such a fast track that we were even struggling with where to bed folks down. We had no time to waste - the issues were too pressing. The New Mexico National Guard joined directly into the fray to bridge our manpower and experience gap and give us the maturing space we needed to ramp up to Initial Operating Capability.

Their support was professional and seamless. When walking the halls or taking briefings, you couldn't tell who was active and who was Guard. Since 2008, AFNWC has depended on ANG traditional Guardsmen to help us with many tasks on the staff, such as contracting, protocol, plans and programs, operations, sustainment, administration and commander's action group. We could not have achieved IOC later in 2009 without their help. In some cases, all we had was a single director and a single Guardsman running their entire directorate. We put in some long days back then. Today, more than 15 New Mexico National Guardsmen are part of our permanent civilian staff, while twice that many serve here on "man-days." Talk about high-caliber support - some have also gone on to be quarterly and annual award winners at Center level.

The Total Force also includes Reservists. We just picked up more than 50 new Reserve augmentee positions, so in the near future, we will have more than 140 Reservists serving on base. I believe the benefits run both ways. Their time with us gave them huge insights into staff work, our mission, working higher headquarters taskers and interacting with senior leaders. Truly a win-win as they take this knowledge back to their units, improve their processes and increase their professional experience.

I feel a special kindred spirit with our Guard partners. The official symbol of the National Guard Bureau is the Minuteman - the same as the name and mascot of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system I've personally served a career in and that our Center supports. The Minuteman name was given to both our citizen-soldiers and this leg of our nuclear triad in honor of the concept behind those patriots in the Revolutionary War's earliest days - to be ready to defend the homeland at a moment's notice. I applaud General Montoya's leadership in New Mexico and I assured him that we will continue to invest in our Total Force and welcome any support he provides to our missions here at Kirtland AFB.

The next time you see people in uniform on a weekend, please thank them for their service - there's a good chance it's a Guardsman or a Reservist on drill or returning from deployment.