Winning today’s fight Published April 29, 2009 By Col. Gary Goldstone 375th Airlift Wing commander SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- "Winning the fight today with our Joint and Coalition partners is job No. 1," said Gen. Arthur Lichte, commander of Air Mobility Command, during the unveiling of his five focus areas for the command in December. To win that fight, he said we must focus on our collective capabilities with airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation, along with improving the en route system, which allows for global operations. And, to ensure mission success in these areas, we must be well trained and have combat-ready Airmen with the right equipment, secure communications channels and ability to get critical information to decision makers. Winning today's fight also requires guts, fortitude and action, like 22-year-old Senior Airman Stephen M. Achey, who found himself on a hillside in March 2002 in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda. As a Terminal Attack Command and Control specialist with the 20th Air Force, he was responsible for calling in air strikes in support of the Joint operation underway. It took fortitude for him to carry a 190-pound pack until that was destroyed by a mortar when he and the company of soldiers he patrolled with came under fire. The blast knocked out his radio and during the firefight, he found himself isolated from the group. Leaving behind his equipment, he ran the equivalent of two football fields to a group of soldiers whereupon he used their communications channels to contact a nearby surveillance aircraft that could relay messages for him. Then, realizing that critical equipment needed for accurate coordinates lay with the damaged radio, he sprinted back under fire to grab his gear, where he then coordinated the launch of 27 MK-82 bombs, each weighing 500-pound bombs, along with JDAM bombs, weighing 2,000 pounds each. The Taliban hunkered down into their caves, and came up fighting again. It took guts, fortitude and action to continue to call in strikes, alert aircraft pilots and direct airpower coverage as the wounded were evacuated during the 24-hour battle. So, how does this Silver Star recipient's story relate to us here and now? The first thing is training. He paid attention and he was an expert in his field. He had remembered his instructor telling him how to communicate with aircraft during emergencies using other equipment. That made all the difference in this particular battle. You are asked to continuously train and be experts in your field. You never know when you will need to rely on innovative and creative methods to accomplish tasks. If you are properly trained, what you have learned will become instinctive when things don't go as planned. What you know can save your life and those around you. We're still sending our men and women into harms way, so we owe it to them to make sure they are combat-ready. The second issue that relates involves executing the mission precisely. He had to be 100 percent accurate to prevent fratricide and other unintended consequences of his actions. He had to be spot on. That is no less a challenge for us here. Our airlift and aeromed missions need to be reliable and precise. Our medics who care for the wounded must be able to perform under all types of situations. The command and control we support here must be reliable and functioning always to enable combat power through the decision makers and combatant commanders. Protecting our information and safeguarding our assets requires diligence and exactness. This is our watch. Let us redouble our efforts to ensure the Air Force, and our nation, win today's fight. It will require fortitude, guts and action, as well as disciplined training and precise execution of the mission. By so doing, we'll enable combat power today ... and always!