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ACC chief impressed with Tinker Airmen

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  • By John Parker
  • Staff Writer
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Air Combat Command's top enlisted Airman visited with hundreds of the more than 4,000 members of the 552nd Air Control Wing last week.
Command Chief Master Sgt. Steve K. McDonald said he was impressed with Tinker Air Force Base's Airmen and operations he encountered in the four-day tour Feb. 22 to Feb. 25. It was his first visit to the base.
"It's kind of interesting being in Air Combat Command with the different mission sets we have that are just phenomenal," Chief McDonald said.
"It's impressive enough seeing what the AWACS does, along with the Air Control Group and all the capabilities that they bring to warfighting, but I just walked away wowed with what the Airmen are doing."
Chief McDonald is the enlisted adviser to the ACC commander and staff for enlisted forces at 34 wings, 19 bases and at over 70 operating locations around the world. The 552nd Air Control Wing is responsible for readiness and deployment of the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System air fleet and combat Control and Reporting Centers.
The chief's visit included tours and briefings and two large-audience all-calls. He said the most significant concern Airmen talked to him about was "change and uncertainty."
"With the budget changes in recent years, evaluation system changes, the force management reductions and a lot of other things, there's just a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds and what the future looks like," Chief McDonald said.
Chief McDonald went on to say that in the past, leadership would tell Airmen to focus on their mission and higher-ups would ensure they had the resources they needed to accomplish it. Today's Airmen are more educated, skilled and have different expectations for staying in the loop.
"The new generation hears about it and they're interested and they want to know what's going on," Chief McDonald said. "So I don't tell anybody anything to try to allay their fears -- I want to have a conversation with them and answer their questions."
The questions are often about the relatively new enlisted evaluation system for promotions and evaluation reports, which greatly increased the emphasis on duty performance.
"It's a big topic," the chief said. "There are a lot of changes, and it's just a different world view, but coming into this system the decision was made by Air Force leadership to make performance matter and to give amazing Airmen an advantage to get promoted."
Chief McDonald said Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, is focused on three priorities: winning today's fight, preparing to win tomorrow's fight and taking care of Airmen and their families.
On an individual level, General Carlisle wants Airmen to focus on "readiness, resiliency and respect," the chief said. Readiness is about ensuring Airmen have the training, education and equipment they need to excel at their mission. Resiliency focuses on giving Airmen the tools to deal with the stress that they're asked to work under.
"The respect part of it is just that with all the changes we've had we want to make sure we respect everybody, and we treat each other with dignity no matter what," Chief McDonald said. "It doesn't matter what your religious views are, or what your sexual orientation is, it has no bearing in a professional organization where we treat everybody with respect."
An unusual part of the chief's visit included giving out his personal cell phone number to everyone attending the All-Calls. He encouraged Airmen to text him and take advantage of his 30 years' experience and expertise.
"I've got a Facebook page," Chief McDonald said. "All you've got to do is write me and ask me a question. I'm willing to engage. Use it."