AMC command chief returns to JB MDL

by Airman 1st Class Ryan Throneberry
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

7/27/2012 - JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Chief Master Sgt. Andy Kaiser, Air Mobility Command's command chief, shared his hopes for the joint base Airmen here while outlining future expectations during a visit to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst July 17 through 21.

Kaiser, from AMC's headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., visited JB MDL as part of a multi-base tour July 16 through 21 that also brought him to Dover AFB. This was Kaiser's second visit to the world's premier joint warfighting base during his tenure as AMC command chief.

"The people who put this trip together took into consideration what I had time to see during my last visit," said Kaiser. "I now feel like I have a broader understanding of operations at JB MDL."

Kaiser maintains his stance on how the joint environment only serves to make the service members here stronger as a total force. He also mentioned how he has noticed the continued positive growth within the joint base since October.

"We were doing well here as a joint base nine months ago and we have only grown in our maturity," said the command chief. "It's great to see how much more mature the relationships and processes are. That's certainly a testament to the leadership here across the board."

Kaiser spoke of the entire AMC and its current operations tempo. Kaiser had said during his previous interview AMC was busier than it had ever been. It seems as though that fiery rate of operations may be slowly drawing back.

"We airdropped 80 million pounds of cargo in Afghanistan in 2011," said Kaiser. "During the early part of this year we thought we would exceed that in 2012. However, while we certainly continue to execute a lot of airdrop missions, it does not appear we will eclipse our 2011 mark."

He quoted Gen. Raymond Johns, AMC commander, by saying we are always one man-made disaster (like Libya), or one natural disaster (like Haiti or Japan) away from drastically ramping up our operations tempo because of our amazing capabilities in global reach. He went on to say leadership foresees a lessening of our hectic opstempo post-2014, assuming the current plan to remove all combat forces in Afghanistan stays on track and we are not engaged in another major operation.

Despite the slight ebb in AMC's overall tasking levels, Kaiser said he does not see mobility Airmen resting on their laurels. There remains much work to be done, particularly in Comprehensive Airman Fitness.

"We will continue to inculcate Comprehensive Airman Fitness into the psyche of our Airmen," said the chief. "The four pillars of CAF, mental fitness, physical fitness, spiritual fitness, and social fitness, enable our Airmen to handle the challenges of an Air Force career. We do not simply want our Airmen to be at the "survival" level. We want them to be thriving in their well-being, able to respond to the stressors of life in positive ways that make them stronger, more capable people and Airmen."

Kaiser's trip to Dover AFB and JB MDL actually began at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he visited Staff Sgt. Brian Williams, a military working dog handler with the 87th Security Forces Squadron. Williams suffered serious injuries after an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on a mission outside Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan April 25.

"My time with Sergeant Brian Williams was very inspiring," said Kaiser. "He's such a remarkable person and a great Airman. Folks like us can't truly understand of all that he and fellow wounded warriors are going through. At best we can empathize and keep them in our prayers. I anticipate his recovery will go very well because he is an exceptional person who has a lot of great friends and family supporting him."

Kaiser served as the 621st Contingency Response Wing command chief from 2006 through 2008 prior to the joint base merger. He noticed changes within the CRW since his time there.

"The wing's relationship with the Army and their Joint Task Force-Port Opening mission-set continues to mature; leading to an even more effective global reach platform," he said "The biggest recent change for the wing is the combining of the former 615th CRW Airmen at Travis into one larger 621st CRW. We also continue to be excited about the establishment of two Mobility Support Advisory Squadrons, focusing on building partner capacity in multiple countries in South America and Africa."

Kaiser also spoke briefly about the next generation air refueler, the KC-46A, which begins operations in the next few years. It will eventually replace the aging KC-135 Stratotankers with more refueling capacity and enhanced capabilities for cargo and aeromedical evacuation.

"The KC-46A development and basing processes have many moving parts, and we continue to coordinate closely with Headquarters Air Force and the KC-46A program office in developing basing options and monitoring program performance. We realize the timeline for getting these aircraft into the inventory, and which bases where they will be located, is being closely tracked by military and community partners." said Kaiser.

As the Airmen of JB MDL look toward the future, so does AMC's command chief, "I think it will be awesome to see an even further integration amongst our services during my next visit for the good of all of our service members."