Happy Holidays, Mobility Warriors!
By
As we head into the holiday season and prepare to wrap up the year, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to the Total Force team of Mobility Airmen across the globe. Throughout 2022, you have projected, connected, and sustained the joint force every day, in every corner of the globe. I could not be prouder of the work this team has accomplished.
You have worked incredibly hard over the past year to prepare for our pacing challenge, and in executing the Rapid Global Mobility operations our Nation relies on. Our airlift arm continues to ensure we deliver combat strength, as well as hope, at a moment’s notice. Hope comes in many forms—most notably, with our ongoing assistance to Ukraine, in the form of military aid deliveries, and humanitarian efforts following natural disasters in countries like Pakistan.
Our air refueling remains a mainstay in enabling global reach, even more now, with the recent addition of the KC-46, which brings unique refueling, cargo, and aeromedical capabilities. Our aeromedical evacuation teams are still the premier experts of life-saving care, while our Global Air Mobility Support experts and Command and Control personnel underpin everything we have accomplished this year. Your expertise and passion to serve is the fuel that drives our mission and has been critical to our success.
We will only succeed in our future challenges if we have healthy, resilient Airmen and families. Our unique strategic advantage has been and will continue to be rooted in our Airmen.
What will the new year bring for Mobility Airmen? Our focus will remain on China, and, in all things, we will remain steadfast with one objective in mind: victory. In August, we installed a one-year shot clock in our headquarters building, and we intend to demonstrate a winning scheme of a maneuver next summer during Mobility Guardian 2023 in the Pacific Area of Responsibility. We have also been very intentional about acting upon and accomplishing big things—quickly. This year, everything we have done—every meeting, every staff-to-staff, every rehearsal, every conference—was geared toward positioning the joint force to win. The lethality required for the big fight is only possible by way of this team; if called upon during conflict, the victory of the joint force will rest on our shoulders.
We will only succeed in our future challenges if we have healthy, resilient Airmen and families. Our unique strategic advantage has been and will continue to be rooted in our Airmen. My team is working hard to ensure we continue to support and improve things like mental health care, family readiness support, family housing options, childcare, and improvement to spouse employment and education opportunities. We have been working hard on cultivating the resilience required of our Mobility Warriors, with an equal focus on mind, body, and craft—a leadership model that I call “Warrior Heart.”
As you take some well-deserved time off during this holiday season, I ask that you do so safely, and to remember our Airmen who are deployed or away from their families. For many, separation at this time of year is difficult. A phone call, holiday party invitation, or even just a smile and kind word can show those we serve alongside that we care. We are a family of Warriors, and we take care of each other.
Our Active Duty, Guard, Reserve, and Civilian Airmen are the heart of the Air Mobility Command’s total force team. My wife, Ashley, and I want to thank you again for an inspiring year. We have much to be thankful for, and much to be excited about in 2023! We wish all of you a safe and happy holiday! LET’S GO!