Home > News > Article Display

ACC command chief visits SJAFB

By Senior Airman Aaron J. Jenne, 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs / Published November 17, 2015

PRINT | E-MAIL
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Chief Master Sgt. Steve McDonald, Air Combat Command command chief, visited the 4th Fighter Wing, Nov. 11-13 at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.

McDonald visited several agencies during his stay, including the 4th Operations Support Squadron air traffic control tower, 4th Security Forces Squadron shoot house, and the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron explosives ordnance disposal range.

He also conducted several briefings and a wing-wide all-call where he discussed and answered questions regarding changes affecting the Air Force.

"Thank you for the opportunity to come out here," McDonald said. "On behalf of Gen. [Hawk] Carlisle [ACC commander] and myself, I just want to say thank you for what you do. You don't hear it enough, and we don't say it enough. Thank you for serving in the United States Air Force, the world's greatest air force."

During his visit, McDonald responded to questions regarding changes to the promotions, enlisted evaluations and proposed changes to military retirement plans. He again addressed these concerns at the all-call, basing his message around the three points Carlisle stated when he assumed command of ACC: winning today's fight, resiliency and responsibility.

"I hope you understand your role in winning today's fight," McDonald said. "The capability you provide helps us do what we need to do to win today's fight. It's pretty simple; every person that is in this wing, regardless of what you do - comptrollers, contractors, maintenance, operations, medical - it doesn't matter, you have a significant role in that mission. You all have an important mission to do. If it wasn't important, we wouldn't pay you to do it."

He went on to say winning today's fight relies directly on the health of individual Airmen as well as the force as a whole.

ACC's approach to instilling Airmen resilience is following the Comprehensive Airman Fitness program, which teaches the importance of mental, physical, spiritual and social resilience. The program encourages balance among all four areas to enhance well-rounded, stable Airmen.

Regarding resilience, McDonald discussed the alarming trend in military suicide rates, asking the audience why so much effort and training regarding resilience isn't having a more visible impact.

"Is there a magic answer?" McDonald asked. "No, I don't think there is, but is there a magic question? I think that question is: 'What is it that will get you through the worst possible day you could ever face in life?' I think that's a question we should all ask ourselves."

He asked the audience how they would respond to terrible news, injury or losing a loved one.

"These things happen," McDonald continued. "That's just part of life, and it happens all the time. What is it that, when the day turns really dark, will tell me it's worth waking up tomorrow? I've got my answer, not necessarily your answer, but I think we've got to come up with something. You've got to have an answer before you need it."

With that said, McDonald transitioned to the third point: responsibility.

He said he views responsibility on the same page as respect and if people have respect for the people around them, they will act responsibly. The two go hand-in-hand.

McDonald said that after 30 years of service, generational gaps in communication processing sometimes create difficulties between Airmen and supervisors. He urged everyone to bridge this gap to improve cohesiveness and promote respect to win today's fight.

"The last time any American [service member] was killed by an enemy air attack was back in the 50's, because we have owned the skies since then," McDonald said. "We own the skies because of you and because of what you do on a daily basis. I hope every one of you understands your importance to the mission of the United States Air Force. I think it's pretty easy to understand how important that mission is to national security of the United States."
USAF Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.