PACAF Command Chief shares thoughts

  • Published
  • By Airman David Carbajal
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE, Alaska --  As the world evolves, inevitably, so does the Air Force. In today's Air Force, Airmen are being asked to do things that have never been asked of them before.

"In the past, we would defend our base from inside the perimeter and the coalition forces would defend it from outside the perimeter. Today we have young Airmen driving convoys and are members of provisional reconstitution teams," said Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Bishop, Pacific Air Forces command chief master sergeant. "Our Airmen are better qualified as 'warrior' Airmen today then they ever have been."

Chief Bishop was at Elmendorf completing a tour of all PACAF's major bases and the majority of the commands forward operating locations.
According to the chief, the creation of the "warrior" Airman begins at the beginning of basic training.

"The Airmen going through basic training now have a much more difficult time due to the high level of training," said Chief Bishop.

"We are now providing better training for Airmen than we ever have before such as weapons training, techniques and procedures, movement and combat lifesaving."
The chief said these skills are vital to surviving the combat oriented tasks placed on today's Airmen. He stressed that Airmen should never stop their training.

"As times change, I ask that our young Airmen seek out as much training as possible and to take the training very seriously. Rest assured that the training you receive will save your own life as well as your fellow wingmen."

On top of being "warrior" Airmen, the education standard has increased dramatically.
"Not long ago, we had Airmen coming in with General Equivalency Diplomas or some who had not even completed high school. Today, we have Airmen coming in with some sort of secondary education up to a Bachelors degree."

The result is a more technologically capable Airman.

"The Airmen I grew up with were more manual labor with mechanic knowledge. Today, our Airmen are more capable of working with more electronic and high tech weapon systems that are vastly greater than the ones from my generation."

The chief added that these skills will play a vital role as the Air Force and Elmendorf in particular transition to new weapons systems like the F-22 and C-17.

With new weapons systems comes a transition in how the Air Force operates, and with transition comes questions about the future.

"With the Force Shaping initiatives, many Airmen have a fear of the unknown, I want to stress that every single Airman has a place in our Air Force. They will have the opportunity to serve our country."

As Chief Bishop visited the Airmen assigned to PACAF the one thing that was constant at every location he visited was the incredible Airmen.

"The one thing that is constant throughout the Pacific is the incredible Airmen we have in this command," said chief.

"These incredible Airmen that are making amazing things happen despite obstacles or challenges that are put in their way. They really are great heroes and outstanding Americans."