JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
To the men and women of the 437th Airlift Wing, it is an incredible honor to be writing to you as your Wing Commander. I am "on cloud nine" since being given another opportunity to serve, lead and develop the world's greatest Airmen here at Joint Base Charleston. Having served as your vice wing commander for the past two years, I have witnessed firsthand the pride and professionalism you exude every day and I am deeply familiar with the challenges you continually overcome to ensure mission success. Joy and I could not be more honored to be a part of this amazing team.
Although we've had a few of our teams and specific members recognized as being the best in Air Mobility Command, we cannot rest on our laurels if we want to continue to improve. As your commander, it is imperative that I provide a vision, direction, leadership and support to guarantee we are prepared and trained to accomplish our mission. Along those lines, I would like to take this opportunity to outline my priorities as we continue to provide safe, precise, reliable rapid global mobility for our nation. A quick way to recall these priorities is to remember A-M-C:
"A" stands for Airmen Care and Development. Our most precious resource is not the fleet of 48 C-17s on the ramp, it is our people who maintain, generate, load, support and operate our machinery. We often ask a lot from our Airmen and, without fail, they selflessly deliver. Leaders and supervisors must take the time to properly acknowledge and show appreciation for the hard work of our Airmen and the sacrifices made by their families. As leaders, we have the chance to provide candid and constructive feedback to our Airmen, allowing them room for growth - both formally and informally. Additionally, our Airmen deserve the best training and development opportunities possible to be properly equipped to accomplish their duties. If we take care of our Airmen, they will take care of the mission...which leads me to my next point.
"M" stands for Mission Execution. I know for a fact our team knocks it out of the park time and time again in this area. Whether it is maximum generation of our aircraft to demonstrate readiness or airdropping food and water on top of a mountain - the Airmen of the 437th AW are always ready to answer the call. With that, we also know the landscape of our mission-sets will continue to evolve beyond what we have experienced in the past 15 years in Afghanistan and Iraq. Near-peer competitors in Europe and Asia may pose new threats. I am confident our Airmen will meet these new challenges through innovation and calculated risk-taking, when necessary.
"C" stands for Culture of Dignity and Respect. Every Airman deserves a healthy work environment - free of harassment, discrimination and toxicity. One of my personal leadership goals is to make contributions each day to create a positive work atmosphere where our Airmen can thrive. While I believe we are already doing well in this department, I know we can still do better. I have no tolerance for sexual, racial or religious discrimination or harassment...and neither should you. We need your help to stop these negative behaviors at the lowest possible level.
AMC...our wing priorities in a nutshell. As mentioned during the change of command ceremony, Joy and I have committed to serving you and your families with YOUR best interests in mind. I am humbled to be your commander and honored to be your servant.