Leadership stresses care in Travis visit

by 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

6/4/2015 - TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Lt. Gen. Carlton Everhart II, 18th Air Force commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Rob Rodewald, 18th AF command chief, stressed the importance of Airmen taking care of themselves and their families June 1 to 3 during a visit to Travis Air Force Base, California.

The 18th AF is the operational arm of Air Mobility Command, the major command under which Travis falls.

The pair visited the base dining facilities, air traffic control tower, radar approach control, dormitories and stopped at David Grant USAF Medical Center, the Air Force's largest medical facility in the continental United States.

Everhart called the Airmen at Travis "unbelievable."

"I'm telling you, from the ground to the air to the air to the ground, you are getting it done all over the place," he said. "We are the world's greatest airpower. ... You know how to make that happen."

Everhart and Rodewald also flew on a C-17 Globemaster III sortie and visited the leadership of the 349th Air Mobility Wing and the 621st Contingency Response Wing as well as the host 60th AMW.

The two spoke to Airmen for more than an hour during an all-call at the Base Theater, touching on subjects such as the revamp of the Enlisted Performance Review, the ongoing fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the possible restructuring of Basic Allowance for Housing for dual-service couples.

Rodewald used the all-call as an opportunity to urge members to seek help when they need it, citing the number of service members who have committed suicide this year.

The chief touched on his understanding and experience, emphasizing that having a "source of hope" is necessary for everyone.

"I'm married," he said. "I have five wonderful children. I've thought about some of the worst things that can happen to me and it's not fun, but I need to do that. I need to find out what my source of hope is. It's going to get me to the next day."

Rodewald also discussed the new enlisted evaluation system, saying the new system will emphasize feedback focused on duty performance.

"Taking classes and other stuff is important, but none of that matters if we lose the next war," he said.

The command chief spoke on the service's ongoing effort to increase awareness of sexual assault and sexual violence, telling the audience that in his first 15 months as 18th AF command chief, almost every incident involved alcohol.

"We can stop this problem right now," he said. "There's a continuum of harm. We need to stop that. We have the power to stop that. Take care of your wingmen."

Everhart told Airmen that the future of the Air Force lies with them. He urged them toward innovation and fresh ideas and asked people to come to him when policies aren't in line.

"I never want to hear you say, 'Well, that's the way we've done it before,'" he said. "If there are roadblocks there, you need to tell me.