Man behind 52 FW mission sets priorities

Published Nov. 15, 2012
By Senior Airman Natasha Stannard
52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- As a 5-year-old boy, he would sit on the sidewalk outside his home in East Peoria, Ill., to watch planes whiz by above him.

The boy who never thought he would power aircraft like the ones he watched is now a pilot and then some.

"My parents didn't have a military background," said Col. Dave Julazadeh, 52nd Fighter Wing commander. "And I had no interest in the military, until I went to an air show. When I saw all those cool military aircraft and the amazing things they could do, ... it intrigued me." After talking to a U.S. Navy Blue Angel about how he became a pilot, 12-year-old Julazadeh realized one thing, "I want to be a military fighter pilot."

Julazadeh took off to make his dream a reality all the while realizing his final destination would be a difficult journey of many years of schooling, maintaining top physical fitness and learning about military lifestyle. With that course of action, he enrolled in Air Force ROTC at the University of Kansas.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, he earned a pilot's slot and began training at Vance Air Force Base, Okla. He graduated at the top of his pilot training class and was selected to attend F-16 training at MacDill AFB, Fla.

"Here I am 22 years later - never had any inkling, never thought as a lieutenant flying fighters that I would one day be a wing commander ... because those guys are really, really old," he said. "But seriously, as a young officer, my only desire in life was to fly. I really hadn't thought of doing anything else. Life was good ... get low, go fast, drop bombs, do good work - Livin' the dream!"

He began to change his outlook during his first assignment as an F-16 pilot with the 512th Fighter Squadron at Ramstein Air Base. There, he witnessed the 512th FS and 526th FS inactivated. With the fighter squadrons shutting down, it was time for Julazadeh to move to his next assignment. However, none of the available options would lead him to continue flying.

Julazadeh took an assignment that would guarantee his return to the cockpit...as a jump air liaison officer with the 1st Ranger Battalion at Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah, Ga.

This two-year assignment did more than Julazadeh expected -- It launched his aspirations beyond flying. The opportunity to work directly with special forces showed him the multifaceted capabilities and immense diversity of the U.S. military, he said.

"I realized that being a fighter pilot was a very, very small portion of what our military could bring to bear," he said. "Working with those incredible Soldiers gave me a huge appreciation for what others in our military do. It's what really made me understand that everyone has an incredibly important role in accomplishing the mission."

Julazadeh went back to flying his F-16 after his ALO job and ended up at Shaw AFB, where he witnessed the incredible operations tempo. Though he was back to his flying roots, the deployments kept him on the other side of the world away from his family and he started questioning continued service with the USAF. Then, he was given yet another unique opportunity.

In June of 1999, the U.S. Central Air Forces and 9th Air Force commander requested Julazadeh's help as an aide de camp. He wasn't excited about leaving the squadron as a line pilot, but the position turned out to be a major turning point in his career as he learned about the Air Force at the strategic and operational levels.

"To see and understand how the Air Force operates at this level and the opportunity to be a fly on the wall during meetings with Allied Air Chiefs gave me a new appreciation for how complex the world is," said Julazadeh of working as an aide. "I started to see the big picture of what we were doing and why we were doing it."

This assignment also led Julazadeh to set a new career goal - to become a wing commander.

"While in this job, I spent a lot of time listening to 9th Air Force wing commanders," he said. "Seeing how proud and excited they were to lead their Airmen was exhilarating! That was the first time in my life I looked beyond being a mid-level fighter pilot. That's when I said, 'I want to be a wing commander.'"

From that point, Julazadeh held on to advice to do the best job in whatever job he was in, and did so in each assignment leading him to his current position as 52nd Fighter Wing commander.

"That's what I focused on -- trying to be the best in every job I held, and trying to exceed my boss's expectations," he said.

Julazadeh holds the same practice as wing commander and has set priorities for the 52nd FW that aims to enhance how Sabers lead the way in defending American and allied interests and building partnerships.

The wing priorities fall into three pillars: mission, Airmen and community. These pillars are interdependent. If one pillar falls short, the entire structure crumbles, he explained.

"We need to tie everything we do to these pillars," he said. "If something doesn't fit within these pillars, we shouldn't be doing it. Look around our wing. We don't have a lot of excess fat; we don't have Airmen sitting around doing nothing.

"The mission is incredibly important," Julazadeh continued. "It is the thing that defines who we are, what we do and why we are here in the first place ... but the mission rests on the other two pillars. We cannot accomplish the mission unless we take care of the Airmen and the community."

Mission
For the mission pillar to stand strong, Airmen must be able to deliver decisive combat power and build partnership capacities.

"We provide decisive combat power to whoever asks us for it ... that's our job," he said. "This is no longer just an in-garrison force. We send warriors forward every single day. It doesn't matter what your job is, we need you in the fight.

"Building partnership capacity is also very important, so the next time we go to war, we can fight alongside our Allies and provide a much stronger capability," he added.

Airmen
In order for Airmen to stand strong, they must learn to lead and share their knowledge with others.

"We need to ensure Airmen get the time, mentorship and opportunity to improve their skills," said the wing commander. "You can be a brand-new airman first class and you can be a leader, and I want you to be a leader. It's important that we forge leaders at every level; the leaders we forge today will lead our Air Force tomorrow."

Airmen should treat the Air Force core values as their personal core values, he explained.

"The Air Force core values capture the essence of who we are and what we are," he said. "They capture not only what it is to be an Airman, but what it is to be a human being, serve your country and be an honorable person."

Community
To keep the Saber community thriving, Julazadeh said world-class support must be delivered to all Sabers, and local partnerships need to keep being built and getting stronger.

Julazadeh said the wing is continuing to do everything it can to provide all Sabers with the support they need to keep focus on the mission instead of having to worry about preventable problems at home, he said.

"If you're downrange and don't believe your families are being taken care of, you can't concentrate on the mission," he said. "That's the kind of thing we don't want to happen. Our job is to take care of Airmen and their families the best we can regardless of where they are."

He also said it is extremely important to continue nourishing the wing's relationship with the community.

"We're not just a team ... we are a Nation ... the Saber nation," he said of the community. "The Saber Nation is our entire community...our Airmen, our Families, DoDDS, Defense Commissary Agency, The Exchange, and our host-nation partners. It's very important to include the community in everything we do in order to strengthen local partnerships. Without their support, we would not be here."

Julazadeh said that when people leave this base, he wants them to say, 'Spangdahlem Air Base was the best assignment I have ever had' and he believes that setting these pillars is a way to ensure that goal becomes a reality.

"This is not a good wing, this is a great wing," he said. "I think we have a solid foundation in all three pillars: mission, Airmen and community. We lead the way in everything we do. We are number one at everything we do, everything we touch and I want to keep that momentum. I am incredibly proud to be your Saber Lead!"