3rd Air Force CC visits RAF Lakenheath

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kristopher Levasseur
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, 3rd Air Force commander, visited the Liberty Wing and its Airmen Sept. 8 to discuss hot-button issues about today's Air Force.

General Gorenc started his visit with breakfast attended by Liberty Warriors of various ranks and organizations across the base. He discussed the changes the Air Force has gone through in his 30 years of service.

"Since I've been a part of the Air Force, it has changed three different times," said General Gorenc. "At first it was the cold-war era Air Force, and then the no-fly zone Air Force and finally what we are going through today is the overseas contingency operations Air Force. The reason why I discuss this is because the Air Force is always changing to meet the mission.

"At the same time, we have been decreasing our force structure. There are many pressures on all of us to make sure that we are doing things right. The problem with these pressures on our organization is that the pain manifests itself where (the Airmen) work. That's why I'm here. I want to hear about that pain so we can find ways to ease the burden."

General Gorenc went on to discuss ways Airmen can help ease the day-to-day struggles and increase efficiency through strong leadership.

"When I talk about leadership, I'm talking about leadership versus management," said General Gorenc. "There is a saying that I read in a book a long time ago, and I think it puts my views in perspective -- 'Managers do things right, leaders do the right thing'."

General Gorenc added that he counts on leadership to ensure Airmen are prepared to accomplish the mission.

"It is important for every one of us to know our mission," said General Gorenc. "This is serious business - people get killed in this business."

At the end of the breakfast, General Gorenc took questions and input from the Airmen in attendance.

"I enjoyed hearing General Gorenc's perspective on what's happening in the Air Force today and his service over three generations," said Capt. Thomas Lesnick, 48th Medical Group, group practice manager. "His information was very relevant to the challenges we all face in the Air Force today."