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Chief master sergeant of Air Force visits Shaw

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman John Gordinier
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Rodney McKinley, spoke to Shaw's enlisted force about the Air Force mission statement, the war on terror, taking care of our Airmen and Airman Pride Oct. 5 at the base theater. 

"In our mission statement it says we need to provide sovereign options for the defense of the U.S. and its global interest," Chief McKinley said. "People might ask, 'What is meant by sovereign options?' This is to provide options for the president of the U.S., so we can go out and do other things besides dropping bombs. Don't get me wrong, we can drop bombs if necessary and be ready at any time, but we are also going to fly in air, space and cyberspace." 

Chief McKinley also talked about his main focus, which is winning the war on terror as well as developing and caring for our Airmen and their families. 

"The number one thing we need to focus on is winning the war on terror," Chief McKinley said. "Tragically, we lost over 3,000 people in the 911 attacks. If the terrorists had the capability, they would have done worse things, maybe trying to annihilate New York City, or even worse, the entire nation. The war is real and the enemy is not going to stop anytime soon, which is why we need to stay organized, trained and equipped to fight the enemy wherever they are in the world. 

"The second thing we need to focus on is developing and caring for our Airmen," he said. "We must take care of our Airmen by developing, training and equipping them to fight the war and become better future enlisted leaders. 

"In order to cut the budget, the Air Force is downsizing and reshaping, which is why it is vital to have quality Airmen," Chief McKinley said. "We need every person to be doing their job the best that they possibly can. 

"We also need to inspire our Airmen," he said. "Inspiration needs to be the job of the enlisted mid-tier. This is why I think the two most important grades are staff sergeant and technical sergeant. Those grades are absolutely invaluable. It is their job to make sure their Airmen are successful and inspired by pointing them in the right direction." Chief McKinley turned his attention to describing 'Airmen Pride.'

"When a person joins the Air Force, they go to basic training," he said. "Towards the end, the trainee gets an Airman coin in a ceremony. This is an emotional event, because they are so proud to finally be an Airman. During the ceremony, they are promised that they will always be referred to as an Airman. We need to keep that promise. Sometimes they get referred to as kids or troops. We don't send troops or kids on deployments; we send Airmen. It's about 'Airman Pride.'" 

Towards the end of the speech, Chief McKinley explained his perspective on today's Air Force and its Airmen. 

"I have been in the Air Force since 1974 and I have to say this is the best Air Force I have ever seen," Chief McKinley said. 

After the speech, Chief Master Sgt. Gary Rutledge, 20th Fighter Wing command chief, spoke about the focus of Chief McKinley's speech. 

"As the premiere Air Force in the world we need to honor the Airmen who have gone before," Chief Rutledge said. "We need to relate our Air Force history and be proud of our accomplishments. 'Airmen Pride' is our way to enlighten the civilian community as well as our own Airmen on the history we have. As the youngest service, we have made a major impact on the battlefield and fighting the war on terrorism. I keep saying we have had air superiority since the Korean conflict. We won the Cold War through strength in our abilities to deter aggression and being prepared to fight. Currently, we are being asked to work out of our skill sets and support many different missions in the struggle on terror and we are not missing a beat. We are maintaining our combat readiness while deploying a significant part of our force. Be proud to be an Airman!"