It's Great to be Back!

Published May 30, 2006
By Col. Alan L. Hunt, Jr.
375th Airlift Wing

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --        For the third time in my career, I’ve
been assigned or affiliated with an
organization at Scott Air Force Base.
My first tour here spanned from 1995
to 1998 with Headquarters Air Mobility
Command. It was a great assignment
and I learned a tremendous amount
from some great leaders, many of
whom are in more senior military or
executive level positions or have moved
on to private sector work force leadership
positions.
     The second time I had the privilege
to be affiliated with Scott, I was
the U.S. Transportation Command liaison
officer to U.S. Central Command
and U.S. Special Operations Command
at MacDill AFB, Fla., from 2002 to
2004. Working in a joint environment
while planning and executing combat
support mobility missions with awesome
warfighters was an experience I’ll never
forget, primarily due to the great
leadership and “can-do” attitude
that existed at all levels within the
military services and coalition forces.
     Now, I’m honored to be selected
as the newest wing commander at Scott
AFB. Once again, the people are the
common thread that have made the
biggest contribution and impact on getting
things started on the right foot.
     I appreciate everyone who came out
to celebrate the 375th Airlift Wing’s
change of command ceremony. The
weather set the tone for an absolutely
perfect event! Special thanks also go
out to all personnel that went above and
beyond to plan and execute this time
honored military tradition.
     Now it’s time to continue to build on
the many successes of Colonel
Rottman and those before him to make
Scott AFB not just Air Mobility
Command’s but also the Air Force’s
Showcase Wing!
     It all starts with the people, our
greatest resource. As we work together
over the next 18 to 24 months, the
theme I’d like everyone to keep in
mind is finding ways to leverage technology,
ingenuity and manpower to
improve our operations.
     As we embark upon a challenging
time that will undoubtedly strain our
most valuable resources, we need to
develop new and creative ways to do
things smarter and more efficiently to
remain at or above the same level of
effectiveness. I’m confident the men
and women at Scott will rise to the
challenge, and we will all benefit from
great ideas that will evolve into new
ways to take care of business. The
leadership at Scott AFB is fully committed
at all levels to succeed. We need
the assistance of all Total Force members
of the military and civilian work
force as well as our local communities
to help us do our best. Please push
your ideas up the chain of command
and don’t forget to take advantage of
the Air Force Innovative Development
through Employee Awareness program.
It’s a win-win proposition for
everyone!
     I look forward to serving the Scott
community as the newest 375th AW