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AMC commander speaks at USTRANSCOM’s 30-4-30 Series

  • Published
  • By Candy Knight
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The commander of Air Mobility Command spoke to members of U.S. Transportation Command July 10 in the Seay Auditorium, as part of USTRANSCOM’s 30-4-30 Distinguished Speakers Series.

Gen. Carlton D. Everhart II spoke on squadron revitalization, modernization and readiness during the event, which is designed to celebrate USTRANSCOM’s 30th anniversary in October 2017 and provide enhanced insight into the linkages between the command and the senior leader’s organization and mission.

Everhart highlighted AMC’s role as the air component of USTRANSCOM, and the command’s partnerships with other component commands and allied partners.

During his speech, Everhart described AMC as “the most joint major command in the entire Air Force.”

“I say this because whether it’s airlift, aeromedical evacuation, mobility or air refueling, we are always looking at supporting someone in a different uniform,” he said.

Everhart used the Misawa Air Base’s aeromedical evacuation mission and the 821st Contingency Response Group’s air base opening in Syria as examples of joint partnerships working together to get the mission done.

“When the joint force needs medical care, our AE teams answer,” Everhart said. “When the warfighter needs to move to a region where there is no established presence, they call on our contingency response Airmen.”

Everhart continued by discussing the four aspects of AMC’s “Rapid Global Mobility Now and Tomorrow” concept—readiness, growing and developing Airmen, modernization and nuclear operations.

“Our Airmen are the foundation of everything we do,” he said. “In today’s high end fight, everyone should be thinking about Rapid Global Mobility Now and logistics.”

The general stated the word “tomorrow” was added because he wanted his Airmen to not only remember what they do each day, but also consider AMC’s future.

“I want to emphasize the importance of looking at today’s victories, but also how we are setting ourselves up for the future in all four of these focus areas,” Everhart said. “What we’re setting the table with right now is what we’re going to live with in 2030, so I need my folks to think about that and how it affects joint operations.”

The general touched on readiness, saying AMC recognizes the world has changed over the past decade, and the command has worked with commercial partners and industry in developing new and innovative ideas that enhance AMC’s ability to meet mission demands.

Over the past decade, AMC has improved processes, including increasing cargo efficiency from 60 percent to 90 percent, and improving tanker scheduling processes to make better use of AMC’s existing fleet.

“We’re looking at how we prioritize missions,” the general said. “Advocating for global command and control of mobility assets ensures that, when the capacity is not there to meet all mission demands, we are getting after the most important missions.”

Everhart stated AMC will execute its first Mobility Guardian exercise this August.

The exercise will help enhance skills and identify where AMC needs to make further improvements.

“Mobility Guardian is going to be AMC’s premier exercise,” Everhart said. “It will test our ability to prepare the force, sustain the force, and after the mission is over, come in and clean it all up. If you need to go by air to accomplish this, then it’s AMC you call.

“That’s what Mobility Guardian is designed to do—exercise our wartime mission.”

The importance of squadron revitalization and the command’s ability to grow and develop its Airmen was another area the general focused on, saying “the squadron is the heartbeat of the organization and growing our Airmen starts in the squadron.”

“Development is about giving our Airmen the tools and training to achieve their potential, whether that’s being the best maintainer on the flight line, the best aviator in your squadron or a future commander,” he said.

When speaking on modernization, Everhart said the KC-46 is the first step in modernizing the tanker fleet but it’s only one aspect of modernization in AMC.

“AMC is pursuing several initiatives to stay ahead of our adversaries and ensure rapid global mobility for the nation, including how we can strengthen our role in multi-domain command and control, as well as examining what air refueling looks like in contested airspace in 2030 and beyond,” Everhart said.

The general ended his speech by thanking members of USTRANSCOM and its component commands for helping AMC accomplish its mission.

“Rapid Global Mobility is not just an AMC or USTRANSCOM concept, it is a national concept. Rapid Global Mobility is a national treasure,” he said.

“I hope you understand that AMC can’t do its mission without you.”