Courtesy Photo | Under Secretary of the Air Force Erin C. Conaton speaks with Capt. David Myrick, from...... read more read more
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SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Under Secretary of the Air Force Erin C. Conaton made an official visit to Air Mobility Command here Aug. 19-20, to learn more about command's continuing mission, capabilities and abilities.
Conaton flew to Scott AFB on a C-17 and during the flight she was provided a demonstration by an aeromedical evacuation team as she was able to witness an airdrop.
"The flight gave me a first-hand look at a lot of AMC's mission," said Conaton. "It was amazing to see a team of professionals in action and the capabilities they can bring to the Joint fight."
Also during her visit, Conaton met with Gen. Raymond E. Johns Jr., AMC commander, and Gen. Duncan NcNabb, U.S. Transportation Command commander, as well as numerous other senior leaders from AMC and the 18th Air Force learning more about airdrop, airlift, aeromedical evacuation and fuel efficiency to name a few.
Conaton said about her visit to Scott AFB, "I'm thrilled to be here. I'm very grateful to all the Airmen of AMC for everything they do -- not only for our Air Force but for the joint fight."
Conaton also took time out for an interview where she answered several questions on a variety of Air Force- and AMC-related topics ranging from fuel efficiency to the Total Force. Following are those questions and answers.
Question: Air Mobility Command is spearheading many initiatives for fuel efficiency to include maximizing payloads for airlift. For example, the upgraded C-5M recently flew airlift missions for the Afghanistan surge carrying maximum payloads of equipment and personnel plus the Air Force's aerial port community is finding ways to fill pallets for cargo space. How important, in your view, is fuel efficiency for our Air Force fleet and what should our Airmen continue to remember about its importance?
Secretary Conaton: "One of the parts of my job that I like the most is that I get to work with senior energy officials for the Department of the Air Force. Energy is incredibly important for a number of reasons. One, we are increasingly reliant upon it -- not only as a service but as a joint force. The amount of energy we consume per deployed service member has risen 175 percent since the Vietnam War.
"At the same time, in places like Afghanistan, it's incredibly dangerous to get fuel to remote locations. So, anything we can do to make our vehicles and our joint partners vehicles more fuel efficient means less fuel we have to carry to the battlefield.
"The other thing is we are at a time where budgets are tight. Secretary (Robert M.) Gates is leading an effort to increase efficiency across the Department of Defense. Fuel efficiency is one of the great ways that we can make sure that every dollar that is spent in the Department of Defense is going for warfighting capabilities. Every dollar we don't have to spend on fuel is a dollar that can be invested in other high priority items for the Department of the Air Force.
"More than that, there is so much leadership that's happening here at AMC on fuel efficiency. I really support and admire what General Johns is doing in this regard. I think we have to create incentives so that commands like this that come up with creative ways to save fuel are able to reinvest those dollars in things that make the mobility air forces as highly effective as possible."
Question: Both Air Mobility Command and Air Combat Command are finding ways to take care of Airmen and their families through Comprehensive Airman Fitness initiatives. How do you see efforts such as Comprehensive Airman Fitness important to making our force more resilient in today's high operations tempo Air Force?
"Secretary Conaton: One of the Air Force's top priorities is taking care of our Airmen and their families. We know that at a time of continued high operations tempo and deployments that we put additional stress on the Airmen and their families who remain back home.
"I am very appreciative of the work that Gen. Johns and Gen. (William M.) Fraser (III, ACC commander) and their teams at these two commands have undertaken to look at fitness and resiliency in a comprehensive way -- not just with physical fitness, but dealing with emotional and spiritual aspects of fitness as well. I also think it is very important to focus on the support to the entire family -- whether that be airmen who are deployed or coming back -- and then all the people in his or her life who support them.
"I think we are very encouraged by this effort and see it as another great effort coming on the heels of the Year of the Air Force family that will allow us to continue to make strides in this area."
Question: Every day deployed Airmen are supporting many deployed efforts across the globe - not just for Air Force missions but for joint and coalition efforts as well. What is your view on the Air Force's direct support role throughout the globe, such as with the recent Afghanistan surge, and how each deployed Airman is contributing to the success of deployed operations?
Secretary Conaton: "Of the top five priorities of the secretary (of the Air Force) and the chief (of staff of the Air Force), number one is supporting the joint fight today. The chief likes to say we are all in and I couldn't agree with that more. We see that throughout the Air Force in terms of the contributions that our folks are making both with air platforms and on the ground in support of the joint fight.
"I think that it's not a surprise that whenever I talk to one of my fellow service counterparts from the other services, they generally begin by saying 'thank you' to the Air Force for everything we're doing -- particularly, for the ground forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Obviously AMC is critical in that regard. We couldn't get the people, the materials, the aeromedical and the fuel that's needed in the theater without the important work that is done here at this command. So I think the direct support mission is absolutely essential and I think this command is doing it in an excellent way."
Question: What is your opinion on how the Total Force has really grown in initiatives? How has it grown to be even better than it was before?
Secretary Conaton: "I think one of the things that has been highlighted particularly in the nine years we've been at war is that this is a Total Force enterprise with active, Guard and Reserve working so closely together. And, again, AMC is really in the lead on this. The way that we work our crews for a variety of airlift platforms that we have highlight the fact that we can't do this without a Total Force approach.
"I think there's a lot of creative associations that have been put forward in the last couple of years and the example that AMC has put forward in that regard has been inspirational to other parts of the Air Force."
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2010 15:22 |
| Story ID: | 55272 |
| Location: | SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 141 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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