9th AF commander visits Team Seymour; emphasizes family, mission

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chuck Broadway
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  Maj. Gen. Lawrence Wells, 9th Air Force commander, and wife Kathy, visited members of Team Seymour July 15-17 to learn more about the 4th Fighter Wing mission and to see what challenges its Airmen and their families encounter.

During the trip, the general and his wife visited various units around base for a first-hand look at the capabilities of Team Seymour.

"Seymour Johnson is truly the only base of its kind," the general said. "The capability the F-15E has with precision-guided munitions and taking the fight directly to the enemy is something the combatant commanders want. The medical group is one of the best medical teams in all of 9th AF. I've told a lot of people to come here and look at how the medical team analyzes (patient care) and I've taken programs from here and spread them all over."

During their many stops, the general and Mrs. Wells spoke with Airmen in their respective units and shared several meals with base personnel and their families.

"The general was very insightful and gave a lot of good advice," said Airman 1st Class Corey Hitt, 4th Comptroller Squadron budget and accounting technician. "It's good to see someone in his position be so nice and approachable. Both the general and his wife were very outgoing and cared about the Airmen."

In addition to visiting active-duty Airmen, Mrs. Wells was also given a detailed account of the services provided to 4th FW families.

Mrs. Wells ventured to the base library, Child Development Center, Youth Center and Family Life Center before meeting with several officer and enlisted spouses to discuss topics such as organizations for involvement, base housing and building camaraderie between spouses.

"It makes me want to smile when I see the people making things happen each and every day," Mrs. Wells said. "Spouses want their families taken care of and want to know that somebody is thinking about them."

Both the general and Mrs. Wells expressed the importance of family and how every Airman should maintain family as a priority.

Mrs. Wells stated she believes the key to success is having a strong family and understanding goals as a parent and spouse. The general even offered an explanation about the misinterpretation of the Core Value "service before self."

"Service before self may not always mean service to the military," he said. "It may be to a family, a church or a squadron. Sometimes it just means giving something up to focus on our families first."

The general stated while Airmen could be deployed more often, he feels it's more important to keep Airmen with their families as long as possible to ensure they're mentally healthy and have sufficient training time to be effective downrange.

With this strategy in place, the general said the mission at Seymour Johnson is not only one of the best in 9th AF, but in the entire Air Force as well. No matter how old an air frame gets, there are new technologies and systems constantly being added, but the main reason for the success is the talented and capable people performing the mission.