Secretary Wynne: Airmen doing phenomenal things

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. C. Michaela Judge
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  Hanscom had an opportunity to showcase both the progress and dedication of the base's workforce to the Air Force's top leader last week.

While on a two-day trip that included a stop at Harvard University, Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne met with men and women of the Hanscom community April 3 and 4, his first visit since assuming the position in 2005.

During his tour here, he met with base and Electronic Systems Center leaders, and received various briefings on mission developments and the continued growth of Hanscom as a whole.

Secretary Wynne, who was stationed at Hanscom as a young second lieutenant, briefly reflected on his time here, saying that he has "good memories" and that "... the hospitality at Hanscom is certainly unchanged."

Despite a tight schedule, Secretary Wynne took the time at each facility that he visited to thank Airmen, civilians and contractors who work here, and congratulated many of them for their efforts and achievements.

The secretary also met with center and base leaders, including the Electronic Systems Center Commander Lt. Gen. Ted Bowlds, whom the secretary labeled as an "innovator" who could "shake things up." Secretary Wynne said he believes this to be very important because the Air Force needs to harness everything possible from technology - both what's available now and what will be developed in the near future.

As part of a comprehensive base tour, each of the five Wings here presented the secretary with demonstrations of their latest innovations, mission focuses and the path for their future support to today's warfighter.

While the demos and briefings gave a small glimpse into Hanscom's overall role, the secretary was also able to meet during a luncheon with recent deployers who had the 'boots on the ground' experience of how the Air Force fits into the bigger picture.

Additionally, during an interview here, the secretary addressed the current deployment operations tempo, and the effects, if any, that it has on a smaller workforce.

"What we have done is try and increase the size of the [Air Expeditionary Force] bucket to make sure that we get access to as many as 95 percent of our total personnel. We still have some areas that are on restriction that we just can't put into our AEF buckets -- but we think that by sharing the burden we can do a lot," the secretary said.

The secretary also touched on Hanscom personnel and their contributions through deployments. "Here at ESC ... you have phenomenal Airmen doing phenomenal things -- deployed all over the world, sometimes deployed in support of others. In other words, they're deployed in Korea or deployed in other parts of the United States, so that others might go and participate in a more direct way," Secretary Wynne said.

He went on to say that they are doing missions "all the way from in-lieu-of taskings to maintaining equipment to the far reaches of the world."

"I will tell you that the support here at the Electronic Systems Center for those deployed individuals is remarkable," he said.

That "support" extends as well to the families of those deployed from Hanscom and across the Air Force.

Secretary Wynne touched on how the Air Force continues to take care of the families that make sacrifices in order to support their loved ones.

"We have great programs Air Force-wide to reach out to the families and provide them with a sense of community that the Air Force can bring. We also can look to them to take advantage of the many programs that the Air Force offers, and I think that in each case, they know that their loved one is doing the job that the nation has asked," he said.

During a visit to the Central Command Area of Responsibility recently, Secretary Wynne witnessed first hand how Airmen "continue to answer our nation's call so admirably in the face of personal sacrifice."

And while the secretary said that Airmen "recognize that when they signed up for service with the United States Air Force, and with the mission, that the deployments were going to be a part of their life," he fully understands the burden of separation.

"A welcome home is unique in its way," he said.