CMSAF Roy visits Kirtland Air Force Base

  • Published
  • By John Cochran
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Kirtland Air Force Base, NM --  Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy visited Kirtland AFB May 24 and 25 for the first time since being appointed to the service's top enlisted position June 30, 2009.

He toured the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Sandia National Laboratories, the 898th Munitions Squadron and the 58th Special Operations Wing, in addition to conducting an Enlisted Call for Team Kirtland.

At the end of the visit, the chief answered a series of questions on his impressions of Kirtland AFB, the current state of the nuclear enterprise and the way ahead for the Air Force.

What are some of the takeaways from your visit, for issues you'll work at the Air Staff level?
First, the diverse roles and missions at Kirtland, with more than 100 mission partners, are unique to the installation. That adds a lot of diversity to what is done here and what is provided to the nation. One of the primary reasons for coming here was to look at the nuclear enterprise and get a sense -- having visited other nuclear enterprise bases -- of where we are with it. I take away that we have Airmen who are absolutely mission-focused and committed to this mission -- for the defense of our nation and others -- and that we have systems and policies in place that people are following. That's the number one takeaway for me - making sure that message is told, not just to those within the headquarters, but also other Airmen who don't understand the nuclear enterprise and don't understand that they are impacted by it. They certainly are, in one way or another. It's been enlightening for me to come out and see the mission.

Since becoming CMSAF, you've talked a lot about complying with standards. How important is compliance in the nuclear mission?
It's an area of zero tolerance. There's no room for doing it ad lib - you've got to do it by the established standard, the policy, the operating instruction and the technical order. As I viewed Airmen working in the nuclear enterprise at Kirtland, that's exactly what I saw - people reading TOs and following the rules - whether it was working on a particular system or following procedures to allow me to come into their facilities - it was by the book, follow what's written in the TO. Those are the established policies and rules - follow them. That's what's acceptable.

Is perfection - zero tolerance for discrepancies - an attainable performance standard?
Perfection is absolutely attainable. We've been doing the nuclear enterprise mission for well over 50 years and we've shown that perfection is achievable. When we review our policies and make sure our people are following established procedures, perfection is certainly attainable.

What's the incentive for young Airmen to work in the nuclear mission?
The incentive for a young Airman to work in the nuclear enterprise is the mission. We have extremely patriotic citizens who come into the Air Force, and we turn them into these Airmen that we so highly regard. It's really the mission that they come for - it's what drives many of us. The incentive for young Airmen today is knowing that the work they do supports the mission of providing national security not just for the United States but also our allied nations.

The nuclear career fields are relatively small. What could and should the Air Force do to develop Airmen to meet future challenges in that area?
Especially in a small career field, we have to look at how we embrace the three elements of deliberate development: experience, training and education. We have to take all three elements to develop people in the Air Force. All three of those have to be meshed together to have the expertise that's required within the nuclear enterprise. Because the career fields are so small, it means that every single person must follow all TOs to the "nth" degree.

Where does the expertise come from to train young Airmen who are new to the nuclear mission?
Our senior NCOs are the knowledge base of our operation. We are chartered to train those who follow us. It's incumbent on leaders of the organization to make that the training more is deliberate - taking every opportunity they can to provide that training, by the book - in those intricate details of doing the mission.

What should other Airmen know about those working in the nuclear arena?
All Airmen need to understand the nuclear enterprise, period. The nuclear enterprise is one that we've got to make sure is an absolute. We've got to be absolutely prepared for that mission; we've got to be absolutely on cue with the standards of that mission. It's incumbent on us as leaders of this organization to make sure that America understands what the United States Air Force provides for the security and defense of our nation.

What will be the indicators of success in the nuclear support fields?
An inspection is a quality check, whether a full-up Nuclear Surety Inspection or a Staff Assistance Visit. They're put in place for a purpose. This is a very dangerous and important mission, and those safeguards are put in place for a reason. It's important that people take them seriously. An indicator to me as I traveled around Kirtland was that people are taking them seriously - they're putting their all forward, they see it as part of the mission, because they see it as that important.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Thanks to all the agencies and mission areas that hosted us. My goal is to continue to provide support for those who operate every day under the pressures of "zero tolerance."