13th CMSAF visits with Yokota Airmen

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Matt Summers
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  There's an old saying that the only constant in the Air Force is change.

The saying certainly applied during the tenure of the 13th CMSAF, retired Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Jim Finch. Chief Finch became the top enlisted member of the Air Force in August 1999 and served under former Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper when the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, took place.

Since that time Chief Finch says not only has the "pace of operations" picked up, but the collective Air Force thought process has morphed into one of "everything we do ought to support the joint warfighter."

"We've become a lot more joint in the way we think about going into the fight," he said during his first visit to Yokota in his 35-year association with the Air Force.

During his visit to the base July 14-16, the chief not only visited with first-term Airmen, junior and senior NCOs, he also caught a glimpse of the bi-lateral efforts of U.S. Forces Japan and the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

Shortly before his retirement in June of 2002, Chief Finch said one of the service's hot topics was balancing the mission with taking care of Airmen.

Seven years later, he compares the Air Force's current pace of operations to "pushing a rock up a hill -- it's there, it's always in your face and any time you take your pressure off it wants to overtake you and come back down again."

"In my view there's still a mismatch between resources and tasks," he said. "We've got to find a way to fund the manpower and the parts and equipment people need to do their jobs -- that's certainly a big debate in many circles.
"People are working really, really hard and as long as we are taking care of them and appreciate their sacrifices and make sure they're doing important work they seem to hold on," he added.

Chief Finch said the ongoing effort to evolve into a truly expeditionary force has deep roots.

"We were struggling back 10 years ago to become more expeditionary in our mindset," he said. "We were trying to create the AEFs and trying to get more people into the buckets so to speak -- changing the mindset was a big ticket item."

To that end, during a biannual review of basic military training in 1996, Air Force officials came up with the idea of a Warrior Week, first instituted in 1999. Although it's evolved since then, the training still gives basic trainees a taste of Air Force deployments. It was added to BMT to instill a warrior mentality, give recruits the necessary skills to operate in a field environment and provide them with a better concept of Air Force operations, according to the Air Force Delayed Entry Program Web site.

"The idea was less about getting people qualified in expeditionary skills, and more about changing the expectations of what life in the Air Force would be about," said Chief Finch. "Because most of us came up through the Air Force in a Cold War environment -- an in-garrison force -- and didn't understand we were going to have to deploy, go away from our families and it was a pretty tough pill to swallow for many NCOs."

The former NCO Academy commandant said the professional development of Airmen is another area of evolution since his tenure.

"I think in the last 10-15 years people have realized that  the PME that we've had over the years is just part of the professional development and that we have to leverage other parts of professional development," he said.

First term Airmen centers, first began in the late 1990s, but not instituted widely across the Air Force until this decade, and enlisted professional development seminars are key to preparing Airmen to assume greater responsibilities, according to Chief Finch.

"I think we're making a more deliberate process of developing enlisted leaders," he said. "At the end of the day some folks have to grow up to be senior NCOs and their decisions are going to be based on the experiences they've had in the past -- so the goal is to give them as many experiences as you can professionally and personally."

For those Airmen debating whether or not to make the Air Force a career, the chief said a little introspection can go a long way in decision-making.

"You've got to ask yourself a couple of questions -- Do you enjoy the things your doing? Do you like the people you're working with? and Do you think you're doing something important and are a part of something bigger than yourself?" he said. "If you answered yes to all of those then you have to compare that against what your alternatives are outside of the Air Force.
"For many it will tough to find a life that is as rewarding as it is in the United States Air Force," he added.