Photo By Paul Shirk | Illustration for Tinker Installation Commander opinion article. Photo depicts 72nd Air...... read more read more
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Teammates, at the beginning of 2024 I asked the question “are we as ready as we could be?”
That question kicked off what I coined “The Year of Competition,” refocusing our Airmen, both military and civilian, to prepare for competition against any adversary, should the need arise.
Fast forward a year, we still live in a world of multi-theater conflict, pacing threats from peer competitors and the ever-present threat of terrorism. We also saw a significant increase in artificial intelligence capabilities and the proliferation of unmanned aerial systems. These developments are upending the battlefield and the way we fight in the same way the airplane did more than a century ago. But the question remains, “are we as ready as we could be?”
SPOILER ALERT, we are ready. But that doesn’t mean we get to rest on our proverbial laurels, our competitors certainly aren’t. We must maintain readiness. This is a marathon, not a 100-yard dash.
And how do we do that? We recommit ourselves to the Warrior Ethos – the embodiment of the warrior spirit: tough-mindedness, tireless motivation, an unceasing vigilance, a commitment to be the world’s premier air, space, and cyberspace force, and if necessary, a willingness to sacrifice one’s life for the defense of the Nation. This was highlighted by the Secretary of Defense in his message to the force Jan. 25, 2025.
The Year of Competition was so successful that we’re bringing it back in version 2.0, if you will, “The Year of Readiness.” You will see some similarities, but the goal remains the same, we must be more agile, quicker-thinking warriors. It’s essential we be ready.
To kick off the year, we just completed one of the largest and most realistic exercises in recent memory, War Wagon 25-01, bringing in mission partners from across the base as well as Oklahoma. Our 24-hour operations focused on the mission-essential tasks to generate mission-ready Airmen, defend the base and employ our Airmen, certifying they are ready to deploy when their cycle comes up.
Exercises like these put our training to the test, verifying that we can do what we say we can and certifying that the Airmen we send downrange are mission-ready for the real-world challenges they will face.
So, what does all this mean for 2025? It means more exercises, more inspections, and some will be no-notice. We want to identify gaps and vulnerabilities and close them now before they become an issue later. This ensures that should the call come, the men and women of Tinker AFB are ready to fight.
What the larger Tinker community needs to know is that this may impact daily life sometimes. We try to minimize impact to the base populace whenever we can, but there may be times we need to close a gate or change customer service hours at a facility on short notice.
Readiness is key. We continue to push the boundaries of excellence, and that is largely possible because we have an incredible force of Big ‘A’ Airmen behind the charge. At the end of the day, we must accelerate readiness, be better, faster, safer and smarter than our rivals if we want to be postured to win.
Readiness encompasses every aspect of our life, as depicted in the four Comprehensive Airman Fitness (CAF) pillars: Mental, Social, Physical and Spiritual. During my command we have focused on Comprehensive Airman Fitness because they are critical to our readiness. We created an annual CAF event known as “Wing It Together,” bringing together Airmen and Sailors from across the base - making them more effective warfighters.
Members of Team Tinker have an outstanding opportunity to hone their CAF pillars at an upcoming event. “Brothers After War” is a documentary that follows Director Jake Rademacher as he reconnects with Soldiers 15 years after he embedded with their unit during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. A special screening will be held at the Regal Warren Moore 17 Theater Feb. 26 & 27 at 6 p.m. There will be two screenings, one for Veterans and another for current Service Members.
I am proud to serve with you during this Year of Readiness!
TINKER STRONG!
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.05.2025 10:13 |
| Story ID: | 492052 |
| Location: | TINKER AFB, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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