by Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
11/26/2013 - GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The
Air Force's nuclear mission continues to have the attention of leaders
across the discipline, the Air Force chief of staff said here yesterday.
Gen. Mark A. Welsh III categorically stated that he is not worried about
the surety and security or the operational capability of the Air
Force's nuclear force.
"It's fine," Welsh said during an interview.
This does not mean he is satisfied.
"I think you have to worry about the morale of your Air Force every
day," Welsh said. "It's a tough business and we do it in some tough
areas. The nuclear business is a very difficult job."
Welsh's first trip as chief of staff last year was to visit the Air
Force units that maintain the nation's intercontinental ballistic
missiles -- one third of America's nuclear triad.
"If you go to our nuclear bases, the great majority of our people are
really proud of what they do and how they do it," he said. "They know
how important they are to the nation."
The 20th Air Force -- the unit charged with the nuclear mission -- had
worked diligently to improve readiness and capabilities of these units.
"The trend lines were moving in the right direction, but not as quickly as people wanted," Welsh said.
Leaders at Air Force Global Strike Command and the 20th Air Force spent
years restoring an Air Force-wide focus on the nuclear business.
"I think that had gained a lot of traction in the process," the general
said. "But they weren't satisfied with the speed of the process."
Commanders needed to look at all the signals to ensure the process is
moving in the right direction. A team from Global Strike Command came in
to look at the situation, build terms of reference and create a
long-term plan to do better, Welsh said.
His question to the commanders was "Why wait?"
He brought in a team from the Rand Corporation to assess the situation
and look at short-term improvements that could be made. That study would
be briefed all the way up the chain of command to the chief of staff
and to the Air Staff.
All the studies found that the nuclear program is on track and moving forward, the general said.
The trend lines on behavior and discipline are positive.
"I was looking at [the number of] Article 15s for the commands this year
and the rate in 20th Air Force is below the Air Force average," he
said.
Are there problems? Yes, Welsh said. But they are being dealt with.
"You are always going to have people when you are in tough climates,
doing tough work, who are frustrated by little things -- the heater
doesn't work in the truck, it's a 16-hour day once you figure in travel
time and so on," he said. These and many other aspects are being studied
and dealt with.
No one in the Air Force is ignoring anything about the nuclear force, Welsh said.
"To my mind, the fact that people get disciplined is actually a good
thing," he said. "The fact that we have commanders saying, 'Yes, I know
it's not a failing grade but it's not good enough for me,' is a good
thing. This indicates there are commanders who are engaged and
proactively seeking to improve performance."
Welsh said it is not just commanders taking ownership of the mission,
but also supervisors and senior leaders on the officer and enlisted
side.
"There are problems, but there are a lot of good things happening out there that we need to pay attention to," he said.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
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