CSAF, CMSAF visit Kirtland

  • Published
  • By Kendahl Johnson
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody recently spent several days at Kirtland touring facilities and meeting with Airmen.

"We are here for one primary reason, and that's to say 'thank you,'" he said at one of his all calls. "Thank you for everything you do for our Air Force, for our nation, for each other. You need to know how great we think you are."

The general and the chief were here, along with their spouses and several other senior leaders. They got tours and demonstrations of some of Kirtland's missions and capabilities, including security forces, the 58th Special Operations Wing's "Monster Garage," and the nuclear enterprise.

"For almost 60 years now, our nuclear deterrence has been our wallpaper of national security," he said. "It's been the rock that everyone else is leaning on. Because in the background is this incredibly successful nuclear deterrent force, our military can be creative, and try different things and new approaches."

At the all calls, Welsh spoke about three areas we need to improve upon "as we move forward to ensure we're set up for success."

The first was common sense.

"We need to remember that common sense should be the first standard we apply," he said. "If, while we are doing our jobs, we find things that don't align with common sense, we should finish the job and then change the things that didn't align with common sense. We have people coming into the Air Force who are incredibly smart, who look at problems from a different perspective, and have great ideas. We need to listen."

He also said we need to work toward improving our communication, and we need to care more.

"We just can't tolerate bad communication," he said. "And all the negative stuff we are dealing with in the Air Force right now can't be fixed solely by a new Air Force program. We will do everything in our power to fix these problems, but the main solution is caring more."

He said every Airman has a story, and it's important for leaders and supervisors to know these stories.

"Some of the stories are a little sad. Some are exhilarating. Some are completely uplifting. Each one is unique. If you don't know the story, you can't be the wingman. It's that simple. Please learn the stories. If you do, if we know each other better, we will take better care of each other," he said.

Cody also asked the Airmen to look out for one another and be good wingmen.

"We have to take care of each other," he said. "We have to put our arms around each other and know what's going on in each other's lives."