SOTO CANO AIR FORCE BASE, Honduras - The 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander visited Joint Task Force-Bravo March 19-20, 2014, to get a glimpse of the missions performed at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras.
During the fast paced stay, U. S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Tod Wolters toured the base, ate breakfast with airmen, received multiple mission briefings, recognized annual award recipients, and spoke to a captivated audience during an all-call.
U. S. Army Col Thomas Boccardi, Joint Task Force-Bravo commander, indicated to Wolters that JTF-Bravo is tailored, scalable, responsive and consistently available to meet any mission but with a smaller footprint than in the past.
“The beauty of JTF-Bravo is the fact that you are great teammates with your fellow soldiers and your local communities,” said Wolters. “You sincerely care about getting the mission done.”
In a brief ceremony before the all-call, Wolters shook hands and gave a coin to two airmen for receiving awards at the 12th Air Force level and five for being recognized by their flight chiefs for outstanding performance.
The main theme of Wolter’s all-call talked about his three-fold operating style: trust, training and team work. He animatedly talked about how past and present Air Force figures embodied these traits and how it pertains to modern day airmen.
“We have a team of teams at JTF-Bravo,” stated Boccardi. “Trust is demonstrated by the deeds that we perform.”
Wolters also discussed two hot-topics of sexual assault and suicide and how leadership is hard at work changing the culture.
“You have to be cognizant of sexual assault and suicide 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year,” he said. “Be a part of the solution and be willing to engage.”
The 12th Air Force commander spoke about how important it is to take care of the airmen. He said a perfect example of the Air Force taking care of its own was when a U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. was killed, along with six crew members, when their plane struck a mountain side in Columbia.
Wolters stated that the Air Force put forth a gigantic effort in conducting a thorough investigation as well as supporting the family guaranteeing that all of their needs have been met.
“If you can go to any company in America and get that kind of guarantee on taking care of each other, go to that company because that’s good stuff,” he said. “But that’s the guarantee that you have in our Department of Defense. And it’s what we do that reflects that we leave nobody behind.”
In his closing remarks, Wolters tells the crowd how much he respects and appreciates their efforts here at JTF-Bravo.
“I sincerely respect the sacrifices that you all are making here. It is an experience that you will cherish for the rest of your lifetime. To be able to be a part of the service that’s providing solutions, that’s taking care of a nation and a region that needs our help.”