Head of Naval Aviation speaks with Sailors during TACAMO visit

Published Nov. 2, 2007
By Petty Officer 1st Class Charles L. Ludwig
Strategic Communications Wing ONE Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- For the first time since becoming Commander of U.S. Naval Air Forces, Vice Adm. Thomas J. Kilcline visited with the Sailors of the Take Charge and Move Out community during a trip to Tinker Air Force Base Oct. 26.
   For Admiral Kilcline, the "All Hands Call" was a part of a three-day stay for the Oklahoma Navy Birthday Ball. Admiral Kilcline, the highest-ranking man in Naval Aviation, served as guest speaker for the event as TACAMO celebrated the service's 232nd birthday.
   "I've had the chance to spend a few days with you here, and I must say it has been a very enlightening experience," Admiral Kilcline said in the get together at the Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron FOUR hangar. "I personally got to learn a little more about what it is that you do -- the TACAMO mission. I can definitely say you are all great Sailors and great Americans."
   More than 250 enlisted Sailors and officers listened as Admiral Kilcline spoke on the importance TACAMO's role throughout the world.
   "Your community has been a vital member of the aviation world for a long time," Admiral Kilcline said. "That will not change. In fact, your role, whether through the TACAMO mission or through assignments as an individual augmentee."
   During the time before the meeting, Admiral Kilcline had the chance to tour Strategic Communications Wing ONE command spaces and essentials, including the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training and Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadrons SEVEN. The admiral also went on a TACAMO mission flight during his time aboard.
   "That is where I learned quite a bit," Admiral Kilcline said, "Anytime you can experience something in real time you can better understand the way a community works. It was certainly a learning experience."
   He then went on to thank the crew that allowed him to fly on the E-6B Mercury aircraft. Earlier in the day, he presented them each with his command coin.
   At the end of his visit, Admiral Kilcline gave the Sailors a sneak peek at his comments for the next night (the Oklahoma Navy Birthday Ball) and conveyed his gratitude to the TACAMO community for allowing him to visit with the Sailors.
   "I am going to talk about this tomorrow night, but I want to just say that I cannot imagine what the original Navy Sailors, 232 years ago, would have thought about fellow Sailors flying aircraft from a base out of Oklahoma" he said. "But I think that after the initial shock would wear off, they would see the very qualities that made the Navy successful in their day. I saw that over the last several days, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity."
   Since the inception of the Take Charge and Move Out community in July 1963, Strategic Communications Wing ONE and its squadrons (VQ-3, VQ-4 and VQ-7, along with the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training) has proven to be an integral part of Admiral Kilcline's mission.
   It provides a survivable communications link between national decision-makers and the country's arsenal of strategic nuclear weapons. To keep that mission, 16 E-6B Mercury aircraft enable the president of the United States and the secretary of Defense to directly contact submarines, bombers and missile silos protecting national security through nuclear deterrence.