ACC commander visits Offutt

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. James M. Hodgman
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  The commander of Air Combat Command, Gen. William M. Fraser III, had one resounding message for Team Offutt during his visit Jan. 12 ... 'I'm proud of all you do.'

General Fraser held an all-call with several hundred base members at Dock One of the Bennie Davis Maintenance Facility here as part of a larger visit to base to hear directly from Offutt Airmen. During the briefing, the general shared his vision and said how grateful he is for the dedicated work of these "unsung heroes."

"We are focused on today's fight and the men and women at Offutt are making a significant contribution to that effort," General Fraser said. "I'm very proud of what each one of them is doing."

During his visit here, General Fraser said ACC and Offutt will face some difficult challenges in 2010.

"The first objective is to take care of our Airmen and to ensure they're properly trained and equipped to fight today's fight," he said.
"We (also) need to be prepared for tomorrow," General Fraser said. "That's another key critical mission (where) the 55th Wing provides a tremendous contribution."

The general also said a big part of being ready for today's challenges, as well as for the future, is recognizing the importance of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, all aspects of Offutt's mission.

"The contributions the men and women are making on the battlefield are (things) I see on a day- to-day basis," he added.

One of those contributions is the Fightin' Fifty-Fifth's RC-135V/W aircraft, which recently reached the milestone of being deployed in support of contingency operations for 7,000 consecutive days. An achievement that General Fraser said, he and many others appreciate.

"When I was in (Southwest Asia) recently talking to the commanders on the ground, they (told me) that they're very appreciative of the things that aircraft is doing. I heard firsthand just how critical the capability of that aircraft, and our Airmen, are to today's fight," General Fraser said.

In this Year of the Air Force Family, the general said he was also quite impressed with the programs Offutt has in place to care for servicemembers and their families.

"There's a myriad of programs here that are reaching out to families (which include) spouses and children, as well as our single Airmen," he said.

General Fraser mentioned Offutt's YOAFF calendar as a step in the right direction.

"(That) calendar had a lot of great things listed on it," he said. "We need to make sure we're advertising those events and making it possible for people to participate in them."

During his visit, General Fraser visited many base facilities including 55th Wing headquarters, the Ronald L. King Dining Facility, base operations and the Patriot Club. He also kicked off the annual week-long ACC Chief's Orientation at the Dougherty Conference Center.