ACC command chief visits Seymour Johnson

Chief Master Sgt. Owen Harris, 4th Component Maintenance Squadron propulsion flight chief, welcomes Chief Master Sgt. Martin Klukas, Air Combat Command command chief, to the 4th CMS propulsion flight at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., Dec. 22, 2009. Chief Harris explains to Chief Klukas the different duties his Airmen perform. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Whitney Lambert)

ACC command chief visits Seymour Johnson

Chief Master Sgt. Martin Klukas, Air Combat Command command chief, speaks with Airmen from the 4th Operations Support Squadron during his visit to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., Dec. 22, 2009. This was Chief Klukass first visit to Seymour Johnson AFB as ACC's command chief. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Rae Perry)

ACC command chief visits Seymour Johnson

Chief Master Sgt. Martin Klukas, Air Combat Command command chief, speaks with Airmen during an enlisted call at the base theater on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., Dec. 22, 2009. Chief Klukas said Gen. William Fraser, ACC commander, sent him to get the pulse of the Airmen and figure out what is needed to make their jobs run smoother. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Rae Perry)

ACC command chief gives Team Seymour 'two thumbs up'

Published Dec. 24, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Heather Stanton
4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Air Combat Command's new command chief dropped in for a visit Dec. 22 to say "Happy holidays" and "Thank you" to Airmen here.

Chief Master Sgt. Martin Klukas became the ACC command chief in October, advising Gen. William Fraser, ACC commander, on the attitudes, concerns, morale, welfare, readiness and effective readiness of more than 84,000 assigned enlisted personnel.

During his visit, Chief Klukas stopped at various workcenters around the base, allowing him to get the pulse of Seymour Johnson Airmen. "Two thumbs up, the base feels good," he said. "There are a lot of lean, mean killing machines out there and this tells me you get it. I am impressed. People have been open and engaging. They are proud of what they do and their facilities, and are excited to be here."

While talking with Airmen, the chief was interested in what he could do to help them execute tasks more efficiently and take care of families.

"I feel we can help remove hurdles and answer concerns for our Airmen," the chief said. Taking care of families is a priority throughout the Air Force
charged by the Year of the Air Force Family campaign.

After visiting base workcenters, the chief held an enlisted call speaking of important issues like the new physical training program and ACC's high
suicide rate.

ACC has the highest suicide rate within the Air force, Chief Klukas said. "We drove the Air Force rate to (an average of) 20 suicides for every 100,000 Airmen. It is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. If you are hurting, please have the courage to stand up and let someone know."

The chief also charged Airmen to know their coworkers enabling them to know when there is something wrong with their teammate.

Though Chief Klukas recently stepped in as the command's enlisted adviser, he knows what he wants to do while in the position.

"I want to carry on Air Force and ACC messages, keeping Airmen as the focus," he said. "As an institution, I think we do a good job developing our warriors, but there's always room for improvement. I want to work with other senior enlisted leaders to help raise the bar and make things better and help inspire others to figure out how to better develop Airmen and remove obstacles to that end. My job is working for you and I want to accomplish that to the best of my ability."