USAFE-AFAFRICA commander praises Incirlik’s readiness

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Wisher
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa commander, visited Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, Dec. 5-6, 2018.

“When you wake up each and every morning, bring it strong and be ready,” said Wolters.

Readiness was the key theme throughout the visit. During his time here, Wolters met with the Spanish Patriot Unit and held an all-call to discuss his key priorities of resiliency, responsiveness and lethality.

Whether building interoperability with our NATO partners or dedicating time to innovate processes, Wolters emphasized that relationships and expertise are critical to maintaining the mission and have a direct role on the base’s readiness.

Wolters also explained that one of the reasons Incirlik Airmen have a high level of readiness is because the turnover rate requires Airmen to hit the ground running, to be subject matter experts faster than anywhere else, as members must be ready to respond at a moment’s notice.

“We continue to produce a set of Airmen that bounce through this wing and hit a degree of readiness that everybody else in the Air Force has to live up to, so you elevate everybody’s game,” said Wolters. “Readiness isn’t important, readiness is everything for our United States Air Force. Everything.”

In addition to praising the base’s readiness, Wolters stressed the importance of checking on one another.  Without resiliency and spending quality time with each other, the Air Force could lose an Airman, which would be devastating for the Titan family and the mission. 

“One suicide is too many,” said Wolters. “Suicides paralyze the mission, but if we take five seconds out of our day to look each other in the eyes and check, it could save an Airman.”

With his final remarks, Wolters thanked service members for their efforts and the hard work they do. As long as Airmen continue to work together, the United States Air Force will remain the most lethal force in the world.

“Be resilient, and be tough,” ended Wolters. “This allows you to work smarter, harder and better.”