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CMSAF Roy visits Spangdahlem, answers tough questions

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Clay Murray
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Roy toured Spangdahlem Air Base July 8, during a visit to U.S. Air Forces in Europe installations.

While at Spangdahlem he stopped by several units, including the 52nd Maintenance Group, 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron, 52nd Communications Squadron, 52nd Security Forces Squadron and the 606th Air Control Squadron.

He also spoke with Airmen from the wing about setting goals and "being the best Airman and technician you can be."

During his visit, Chief Roy answered important and tough questions for Airmen to consider. During an interview with the 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs office, he addressed the following questions:

With the Air Force "All-In," what issues are our forces facing, and what are we doing to better prepare them for the roles they play in worldwide operations?

"Our Airmen are on a very high deployment rate. The thing we need to remember is any given day we have about 40,000 Airmen deployed around the world. Of those Airmen, 30,000 are deployed within the central command theater of operations, but we need to keep in mind that we have about another 160,000 Airmen who are employed every single day by a combatant command that cannot deploy. We simply cannot deploy them forward - we have Airmen who operate GPS satellites [and] we have Airmen who work within a strategic airlift community. When you talk about all in, you've got to look at how the United States Air Force and all of our Airmen are all in. Now the 40,000 Airmen who are deployed around the world, those Airmen we take to heart. Along with that, when you talk about all in, the families have to be all in, because it is not just the military member, but it is the family member who also takes part in these deployments or who are employed by combatant commands. The family has to be ready as well. Preparing a family for deployment is one [thing] that we need to take special care of."

Are there plans to change or improve combat skills training requirements for our Airmen?

"The combat skills training that we look at, I would sum it up in a couple of ways. First are those Airmen who operate outside the wire. That's where a lot of people focus - that's simply called CST (Combat Skills Training). Now when you talk about CAST training, Combat Airman Skills Training, that's Air Force training conducted by Air Force instructors, and we are able to take information from those coming out of the theaters of operations to change how we do the training. When you talk about combat truckers for instance, we do some of that. We also do regional training centers for our defenders. We do some of that here within the EUCOM theater of operations as well. We are able to change that training based on the information that comes back from different theaters of operation so we can have our Airmen absolutely ready for those missions."

What are your impressions of the most effective support programs we provide our families while Airmen are TDY or deployed? Are there any new initiatives on the horizon to help Airmen and their families?

"We are just winding down the year of the Air Force family, and it's one that gave us a look at some of the programs that are out there for our Airmen and their families. Some of those things, such as [the] exceptional family member program, are things we need to improve on, and we are doing that. We also recognize that our school liaisons are pretty important. When we visit a base or when you go to be assigned to a base, one of the first things you are going to do, if you have children, is look at the school system and see how the schools operate.

"As you look at deployments, one of the things the year of the Air Force family was able to do for us is highlight some of those things we can improve upon. If you look at how we prepare people and families for deployments, one of the crucial points is the Airman & Family Readiness Center. There are so many programs that the A&FRC has to offer that it's important for our families along with the Airmen that are deploying to visit those locations.

"Also, every single unit within the U.S. Air Force, every single squadron should have a key spouse.

"It's not just about those Airmen who are deployed; it's about day-to-day activities in getting information to families. It's one of the areas we highlighted that we need to continue to work on; communicating with families. I think we have done a very good job of preparing our people for deployments and making sure we have connections with those who are deployed.

"Another area we don't think of too often is our single Airmen. You know the single Airman - that's not just those young enlisted Airmen or those young Airmen who come to us out of basic training. It is our young unmarried single officers - both company grade and field grade officers - and civilians as well.

"Those are just two things that we looked at and identified as areas that we can improve upon."

Spangdahlem Airmen are supporting operations all over the world. What do you want to say to the Airmen and families of the 52 Fighter Wing on the job they are doing?

"[To] the Airmen and their families here at Spangdahlem: thank you. Thank you for what you do. Thank you for providing the security for our nation.

"I spoke with some of the community leaders, and I'm very, very proud of the fact that our families and our Airmen represent the United States very, very well. The community leadership expressed to me how very impressed they are with the Airmen and their families here, and the fact that they like having Airmen and their families within their communities. They have lifelong friends. Continue to do that, and again - thank you for what you do for all of us."