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Secretary Donley impressed with AMC, Scott

  • Published
  • By Monte Miller
  • 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Secretary of the Air Force, Michael B. Donley, visited Scott Oct. 22 as part of Air Mobility Command's Phoenix Rally.

During a day filled with conferences and tours of AMC facilities, Secretary Donley took a few minutes to share some updates on the future of the Air Force.

"I just got back from touring Central Command in Iraq and was very impressed with what I saw," he said. "We have tremendous young Airmen making a remarkable impact. They are doing the nation's business and it is marvelous to behold."

Secretary Donley added the Air Force is "all in" fighting the Global War on Terrorism and has a full and diverse range of capabilities on the ground in the area of responsibility and commented on the role AMC plays in that process.

"We are use to seeing individual missions in the states," he said. "Over there, all that comes together. The Air Force is performing many critical tasks. You have to go half way around the world to get to the fight and AMC sets that up. The numbers are staggering."

The aeromedical evacuation mission AMC conducts was another critical area Secretary Donley was impacted by during his visit to the area of responsibility.

"Survival rates are higher now than they have ever been," Secretary Donley said. "AMC coordinates getting wounded warriors from the point of injury to our hospitals at Balad and Bagram Air Bases and then back to the U.S. They also get wounded warriors back to the theatre after they have recovered.

"I gained a broad sense of scope and education in my first visit to the theatre. I was impressed with what I saw."

The secretary was also briefed on the volume of the AMC mission, which includes 900 sorties a day transporting 2,000 tons of cargo and 6,000 passengers worldwide.

"Every 90 seconds a sortie is flown that is managed by this (AMC) command at Scott," Secretary Donley said. "That is a very impressive capability and it's great to see it up close. At other bases you see things at only the wing level, which is sometimes the tail end. Here at Scott you get to see the beginning. There is a great set of senior leadership officers and enlisted personnel that make it happen."

Earlier this year, Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates, visited and said Scott was one of the three most important bases in the Air Force in regards to the nuclear mission along with Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and Air Force Space Command at Petersen Air Force Base in Colorado. Secretary Donley echoed those remarks and spoke positively about Scott's future.

"This command has deep roots here and is not going anywhere," Secretary Donley said. "Air Mobility Command is a considerable major command for the Air Force. U.S. Transportation Command is also one of 10 major combatant commands for the entire Department of Defense. A lot of time and infrastructure has been invested here. The senior staff here supports not only the Air Force but the entire Department of Defense."

During his press conference, he also touched on some major issues affecting the Air Force and stressed a few areas he is focusing on.

The continuing search for a new refueling tanker for the Air Force was brought up and Secretary Donley reiterated the decision on the tanker contract would be postponed until after the new presidential administration takes office in late January.

"Over the next couple of months we will set up discussions for the next administration," he explained. "We will have all the specs and a full range of information in place. We will tee everything up and (new administration) will have all of the information early. Whether they make a decision in three months, eight months or longer is up to them."

Three sensitive areas on Secretary Donley's radar are things that directly affect quality of life for Airmen.

The first is building new dormitories for junior Airmen and the second is fully budgeting and setting up Child Development Centers on bases around the world. The third area of importance is the continued treatment of wounded warriors on the battlefield to their home destinations and everywhere in between.

"We are focused on providing stronger support for our Airmen and their families," Secretary Donley said. "When we are focused on fighting missions, we tend to slack in those areas."

He also touched briefly on the Air Force nuclear roadmap that was released Friday, the continuing development of unmanned aircraft and their future capabilities to warfighters on the ground. Cyber Command, acquisitions and satellites are also a strong focus areas for the secretary in the next few months.

This was Secretary Donley's first to visit to Scott as Secretary of the Air Force. He has been to Scott several times over his years of service. The most recent was in 2002 when he was a consultant to the U.S. TRANSCOM commander.