Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Nadine Barclay | Members from the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing at Kabul International Airport,...... read more read more
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KABUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Afghanistan - Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy spoke to a crowd of more than 100 military members at Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan, Feb. 1 and discussed many top Air Force issues.
Topics Roy spoke about included budget issues, resiliency and future capabilities of the Air Force.
The chief said he attempts to visit the advisers at the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing every time he visits locations in Central Command. He said it is a mission he believes in and that he had a similar experience when he was the senior enlisted leader and adviser at U.S. Pacific Command.
"I think air advisers are pretty important," he said. "It takes a special person to fill your role."
The chief said that in helping build another nation's military, you get an opportunity to take a look in the mirror and realize what a professional enlisted force the U.S. military has. He said the end game is for the advisers to work their way out of a job and transition control back to the Afghan government.
One subject that was front and center throughout the chief's speech was the effects a lower budget will have on the Air Force. He said with an increasing national debt, it would be irresponsible if the military continued to do business as usual. He said leaders need to take a hard look at what capabilities a future force would be able to support.
"We are not going to do more with less," he said. "We are beyond that point. In fact we are not going to do the same with less. We want you to define what we have the capability to do."
A central theme in Roy's speech was the need for strong leadership in the enlisted ranks to help facilitate this future transformation.
"If there was ever a time for strong senior enlisted leadership, it is today," he said. "We have some challenges ahead of us. We need to be bold in our leadership."
Roy said military members would have to stay resilient during this turbulent period of change. In fact with such a high deployment rate, he said that he feels the resiliency of family members should not be overlooked either. He encouraged all of the attendees to make use of today's communication technology and keep in contact with their loved ones.
"I realize there is a lot of stress out there and your families have to deal with a lot," he said. "Please do the Air force leadership a favor and tell them how much we absolutely appreciate their sacrifices."
Airman 1st Class Anthony Grochowski, a firefighting adviser, said he really enjoyed the Chief's speech.
"I think it was very beneficial to me that he talked today," he said. "I have a lot of questions and worries about my future. I think he really clarified a lot of issues. It shows me that he cares since he took the time to do this."
| Date Taken: | 02.01.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.05.2012 05:50 |
| Story ID: | 83342 |
| Location: | KABUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, AF |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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