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Air Force's enlisted leader visits base

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kimberly Moore
  • 81 TRW/Public Affiars
KEESLER AFB, Ms. --  Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Roy visited Keesler, one of his former duty stations, Dec. 17-18.

Chief Roy spent three years here, arriving in 1997 as facility maintenance chief for the 81st Civil Engineer Squadron. He was superintendent of the military personnel flight before becoming superintendent of the 81st Mission Support Group.

After he left Keesler in 2000, he served as a command chief at four other bases and senior enlisted adviser for U.S. Pacific Command before becoming the Air Force's top enlisted leader in June.

When asked how the base has changed since he left, Chief Roy said, "Visually, a lot of new buildings."

Destruction from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, partnered with the Economic Recovery Act, led to the largest military family housing project in Air Force history, as well as construction of several new structures.

One thing equally as noticeable to the chief as the visual differences is Keesler's spirit of resiliency.

"Some Airmen here were here when Katrina went through and they recovered, and the base certainly has recovered," Chief Roy said, noting that Keesler is once again "a fully-functioning, fully-operational base."

Chief Roy explained how Keesler's resilient people affect the future of the Air Force. "The mission at Keesler is quite unique -- you are preparing our future in training our Airmen of the future," the chief said during an enlisted call. "I applaud you for that."

Chief Roy spent two days touring the base and meeting with personnel in various sections. He said he likes to remind every group, "We are a nation at war -- we are absolutely at war and things are changing."

"As Keesler is a training wing, the young men and women you are training today may be in combat within a few weeks or months," he emphasized. We are in a war that requires us to go off to battle in different locations. That's OK, folks. Away games in this type of sport are OK -- we like those."

Chief Roy added, "We are absolutely the best Air Force in the world but we didn't get here by accident. If we want to keep that status, we're going to have to look at where we're going in the future, and the future starts right here in training."

In addition to the local training emphasis, Chief Roy touched on the importance of community in the Air Force. Building new dormitories and housing units encourages a positive sense of community, he explained.

"We should focus on housing, bring the sense of community back to base so Airmen will want to be a part of this community," he said.

Being a part of the Air Force community can be difficult, and Chief Roy had advice on how to make it easier.

"For both those Airmen who are deploying and those here, it's essential that we take care of families," he emphasized. "Key Spouses is certainly one of those programs we want people to engage with. It's an essential key to keeping people informed. That's why people stick around -- they feel part of the team and have that sense of community."

Finally, the chief emphasized the things he is encouraging people to focus on -- the mission, people and the standards.

Before departing, Chief Roy reminded Team Keesler, "Take care of each other -- be wingmen."
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