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AFSPC vice commander addresses 3rd Herd impending inactivation

  • Published
  • By Brandice J. O'Brien
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Lt. Gen. Michael Basla, Air Force Space Command vice commander, spoke to a packed house of 3rd Combat Communications Group Airmen at the base theater March 28. He addressed their issues regarding the impending inactivation of their unit and let them know their well-beings are high priorities.

The process is already under way. Beginning today, a personnelist specializing in assignments will brief 3rd Herders about their options during a series of three town hall meetings.

"Very difficult decisions are being made in our Air Force, Department of Defense and nation. But, those kind of changes are best looked at as opportunities," the general said. "Opportunities to take what we have, go out there and make something better and that's what I'm challenging each and every one of you to do.

"And I'm not going to be a Pollyanna about this; I know there is going to be some personal sacrifice involved and I thank you for that. Our nation and Air Force thank you for that," he said. "In the end when it's all said and done, I hope we can all look back on this very difficult time and say, 'We did it right, we went out with our heads held high, we honored the flags in this room the way they deserved and our Air Force is going to survive and so are each and every one of us.'"

The decision to inactivate the 3rd Herd came in early March and will affect approximately 600 personnel. General Basla said Air Force officials considered the current budget constraints, war-time requirements and the missions of the future.

"While looking into the future, our secretary [of defense] believes we are going to fight a little differently," the general said. "We are not going to have the major forward footprint that we do today and we are not going to have the large land war that we had for the past 10 years. Some of our force structure is coming down."

Knowing that, officials then looked at what is provided by active duty, reservists and the Guard. They realized there is a surplus and all three components would be affected by Air Force-level decisions.

"It was a very hard decision," General Basla said.

Since 1952, the tenant unit, then known as the 3rd Airways and Air Communications Service Squadron, Mobile, has been assigned to Tinker. After several name changes and a major command re-designation, the unit continued to persevere. With a high-operations tempo, 3rd Herd Airmen have participated in many conflicts including the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and Operation Southern Watch in Southwest Asia. The unit also provided emergency support following natural disasters such as hurricanes in Guam, Florida and Hawaii, and after Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana.

But, unlike other units that have been inactivated, the general is sure the 3rd Herd won't be forgotten. He likened the 3rd CCG's stature with that of the 71st Fighter Squadron, a unit that was inactivated in 2010 at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. Formed in 1940 and activated in January 1941 as the 71st Pursuit Squadron, the unit began its history performing anti-submarine duty along the Pacific Coast. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the unit was renamed the 71st Fighter Squadron and endured a long and fruitful future deploying support to various conflicts and operations including World War II, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Northern and Southern Watch.

"This doesn't mean the 3rd Herd is forgotten. It's absolutely not forgotten," General Basla said. "Your heritage will live on in the war stories you tell your grandkids and in the wingman stories you share with each other. Our Air Force recognizes the 3rd Combat Comm Group as the unit whose outstanding performances and sacrifices have earned it a decorated and proud heritage. I know you're going to continue that heritage until the last Airman walks off Tinker Air Force Base."