Teammates, 2024 was a huge year for us. We began the Year of Competition, which in turn was a fitting transition toward Great Power Competition. As we move into 2025, we will continue to evolve as we begin the Year of Competition 2.0, or as we will call it: The Year of Readiness.
Over the last year, I published Op Eds to discuss my priorities as your wing commander. This effort was designed to keep you informed on how we are attacking Great Power Competition, and how the role of the 72d Air Base Wing is critical, ascending all the way up the chain. My priorities align with the Air Force Sustainment Center Commander’s, whose priorities align with Air Force Materiel Command, so on and so forth. You can read more about mine and AFSC priorities.
Arguably the most important priority for the wing is my Priority 1 – Executing Team Tinker Missions. It may seem broad, so let’s unpack how the wing, as the power projection platform, enables our 45 mission partners across Tinker Air Force Base to execute their missions. First, to meet the ‘Produce to Promise’ priority established by Lt Gen Stacey Hawkins, AFSC Commander, it is imperative that we are dependable and hold up our end of the bargain. This means that the air base wing needs strong and deliberate follow through. If we promise to provide support, we need to be prepared to deliver that support. While the wing maintains the ability to deliver on the promises made, we need to continuously evaluate and innovate our processes to provide the same level of services more efficiently.
The air base wing provides installation support across the readiness spectrum including security, safety, infrastructure, housing, food, medical services, weather, legal, pay, the airfield and so much more. These are vital when it comes to the mission success of our partners. Simply put – they cannot execute their critical missions without the work done in the 72nd Air Base Wing. I cannot emphasize enough how vital our work in this wing is and the impact our work has on others. We provide that full-spectrum service to our mission partners, which enables them to succeed.
Beyond the steadfast support we provide, we will continue to see change in this new year.
We are emerging from a strategic environment that has largely been permissive for our forces – at home station and deployed. That permissive environment no longer exists, and we must change to meet the new threat. Adapting our Air Force design for Great Power Competition will start in our wing this summer.
This summer our Mission Support Group will deactivate; we will stand up a new Deputy Commander for Combat Support and also transition to an A-Staff. The new A-Staff will consolidate related staff functions and functional expertise at the wing level to ensure unity of effort. Stay tuned for more information as we roll out these exciting new organizational changes.
When I put out my first Op Ed about The Year of Competition, one of my focus areas was that these changes and preparation will make us a more ready, lethal force. Executing Team Tinker Missions is critical to achieving the lethality needed for Great Power Competition.
Your focus, adaptability and execution over the last year reaffirms my belief that our people truly are our greatest resource. I am so proud to be your commander and stand side-by-side with you as we proudly execute Team Tinker missions as the power projection platform.
Tinker Strong!