Command chief returns to arctic

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jack Sanders
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Chief Master Sgt. Rob Tappana, Air Education and Training Command command chief master sergeant and former 3rd Wing command chief master sergeant, returned to the arctic tundra Feb. 16-17.

"I love it here," Tappana said. "It's a great mission; it's great people, and it's a beautiful environment."

It's been almost five years since Tappana was stationed at Elmendorf.

"You've got a tremendous amount of building going on," Tappana said. "I've only been gone since November of 2005, you brought on the C-17s and you've brought on the F-22s you're bringing our total force teammates from Kulis over. You have construction going on everywhere."

The chief said despite all of its changes Elmendorf still is pretty familiar.

"I love the snow and we don't get a lot of that (at Randolph Air Force Base) in Texas. I miss it a lot."

"There's an AETC mission here in Alaska," said Tappana. "I've been up to see the survival school. I've been here to see the field training detachment, the recruiters, the ROTC detachment at the University of Alaska. It's good to see our folks that are working the field and to know we're part of the amazing stuff that happens up here."

Although the chief said his fondest memory of Alaska were the people he met and worked with here, he said that he enjoyed being able to see the base do well on their Operational Readiness Inspection.

"Doing well during our ORI despite the weather and all the challenges it threw at us and all the challenges the inspection team threw at us," Tappana said.
The chief said that he can see the excellence from his time here is still present today.

"I expect that," he said about Elmendorf's recent ORI score. "You guys are great."

One of the largest and most recent changes to Elmendorf since the chief's last visit here is the process of combining with Fort Richardson.

Tappana said he thought there would be many benefits with Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, primarily that it would bring more efficiency to management.

"Rather than having two support groups managing the same functions it should give us some operational efficiencies; it will also allow us to explore opportunities where we can work together with the army and more efficiently do the things that we do," he said.

Tappana said he is very familiar with joint basing since he's dealt with multiple bases joining in AETC, but currently he is focused on professional military education and preparing for the new fitness standards.

"Our main focus is trying to figure out how we can most effectively recruit, train and educate," Tappana said. "That's what we do."

The chief said he has simple advice to Airmen about how to be successful.

"(My) number one recommendation is the same all the time," said Tappana. "Whatever job we give you to do, do it well. Bloom where you're planted. Sometimes people get too focused on their career and they start thinking what their next job should be, what should the next job after that be and they forget to do the job they have. If you bloom where you're planted and you're successful, when a bigger challenge comes along we will transplant you to a bigger better garden."

Before he left the chief shared his part about his job, "Being given the opportunity to lead Airmen and do my best to develop Airmen to defend this country. It sounds kind of cliché, but it is an honor to be allowed to do that."