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Show 388th Fighter Wing supplement to the Hilltop Times Thursday. August 23, 2001 Twice Monthly General Jumper says farewell to Air Combat Command; looks forward to next assignment By Master Sgt Terry Somerville Air Combat Command Public Affairs Guard are carrying an increasing share of the load. LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE. Va. Making deployments easier on Air Force people and improving the way we go to war - those goals are what Gen. John Jumper can look back on and look forward to. After 17 months as leader of Air Combat Command, General Jumper replaces Gen. Michael Ryan today as the Air Force chief of staff. General Ryan is retiring after 36 years of service. The name of ACC's next commander has not yet been announced. "I came here (from U.S. Air Forces in Europe) with the experience of the Kosovo war behind me and a decade of observing the U.S. Air Force in various kinds of conflicts," General Jumper said. "I determined that w e were going to get a start on improving ourselves at the operational level of war: command and control, the horizontal integration of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, etc. I took that on as one of the top priorities to at least get us started." He has done that with his concept. The concept marries operational-leve- l improvements with new technology and new ways to use air and space power. General Jumper says the Global Strike Task Force is needed to keep America's military strong through the 2 st century. He'll continue pushing it as chief of staff. The general said he is happy with the "growing maturity" of Aerospace Expeditionary Force deployments. For the first AEF cycle, which ran October 1999 to November 2000, "I grade as we tried to transition out give us about a of our Cold War cultural attitude into the more flexible Expeditionary Air Force mindset. It was tough and continues to be tough." Since then the Air Force has made thousands more positions eligible to deploy, people get increased predictability with every trip, and the Air Force Reserve and Air National 1 us "They're sup- porting us every day at the same level they supported us at the height of the war w in Desert Storm," General Jumper said. "Twenty to 25 percent of our units line deployed today are from our and Guard Reserve. I think that's absolutely remarkable." For AEF cycle three, which begins March 2002, "we'll be able to get ourselves up to an A or grade," General Jumper said. Areas like aging aircraft and retaining skilled people still need work, the general said. Modernization of the aircraft fleet will continue to occupy him as chief of staff. Some older 5 tanker, aircraft, like the 2 and B- bombers and new the avionics and weapons for instance, are receiving they need. Other aircraft are slated for replacement by the 2 and Joint Strike Fighter. "We don't like sending people to war in 25- - or fighters. We don't ask people to win the Indianapolis 500 in a car and we shouldn't send our kids into harm's way with equipment that old," General Jumper said. "Everybody recognizes that and agrees with it, we just have to get on with it." The Air Force has attacked falling retention rates by aim- Gen. John Jumper Air Combat Command commander B-5- KC-13- -l F-2- ld improvements. ing dollars at pay, benefits, and quality-of-lif- e Rates have improved, but General Jumper says the Air Force can do more. Retention is "the number one people issue we have to deal w ith," he said. "The other part w e have to do w ith our people is make sure they get out for the right reasons." General Jumper said. "We don't offer an opportunity to get rich wearing the uniform, but you can get rich in other ways. There is a moral and a spiritual side to it as well as a material side. It's how good you feel about yourself, w hat you do and w hat you're doing for other people. "I can look back on 35 years of service and tell people that I don't know exactly the years I got a pay raise, but I do know everything that I took a part of that w as meaningful, that was big, that had large consequences - even international consequences," General Jumper said. "I knew the people I was with; some of them I still serve with today. When I look back and talk about things, that's what 1 talk about. That's w hat means something to you. It's hard to match the opportunity we have for that kind of feeling." As for looking ahead, the general said as chief of staff he'll continue to emphasize "the two most important things we do: flying and fixing airplanes." "That doesn't mean that you're not important if you're not pulling on a pole in the cockpit or turning a wrench on the flightline. It means that the importance of the rest of us is how we contribute to flying and fixing airplanes, and I include myself in that. I'm a staff guy. I don't fly and fix airplanes, but it's my job to make that happen. "Because in peacetime.we're training the force that's going to fight and win the nation's wars," General Jumper said. "It is the most important thing we do." ( Courtesy ACC news service) See next page for Gen. Jumper farewell to ACC Off we go... u Review of Iraq policy under way DOD official ............ l.i t III I. , , .J Nfc , . Uf " ' ' (JJ says "--r WU.Comf. '111.1. AIR EQRcy Will the United States and its coalition partners zones continue to play aerial patrolling the y ft missiles and Iraqi ahead? months in the guns Stay tuned, Peter W. Rodman, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told reporters at the Pentagon Aug. 21. "We have not fori gotten about Iraq," he said, noting DoD and other federal agencies are now reviewing defense security policy and strategies concerning Iraq. "This is an issue that is being taken with utmost seriousness and is being looked at with great care," Rodman said. U.S. Central Command officials have ft noted that the Iraqis have fired missiles and artillery at U.S. and coalition aircraft in more than 1,000 separate incidents since December 1998. TO BSF. no-fl- I I 1 W i 4 anti-aircra- 6 Ax :c D sMP anti-aircra- Use or lose Accrued leave in excess of 60 days is lost at the end of each fiscal year, unless special leave accrual Photos by Airman 1st Class Nakita Carlisle The 729th Air Control Squadron deployed to Operation Southern Watch August 28 as part of Air Expeditionary Force seven and eight. The squadron will be deployed for approximately (Above) People from the 729th ACS wave to friends and family members as they prepare to board the aircraft which took them to their deployed location. (Left) Men and women from the air control squadron climb the ladder to board the contract air flight. applies. Commanders and supervisors should encourage all members to use their excess leave before Sept. 30. 90-day- Right Start Due to the Sept. 3 holiday, the wing Right Start Newcomers briefing will be held Sept. 1 1 at 9 a.m. in Building 125 room 26. All newcomers to the wing, regardless of rank or rating, must attend Right Start within 45 days of arrival on station. For more information, call the 388th Fighter Wing ' Public Affairs Office at 777-831- 0. Safety Note If the National Weather Service reports a weather "watch"for your area, start preparing for severe weather. If the National Weather Service reports a "warning," a natural disaster could occur at any moment. AdvwtlMfTwnta COPY 1 contained tuteln do not constitute ndorwment by the Department ol Detain, the U 8. Air Force ol HK AFB. EveiylWrg advertised li available without regard to race, color, religion, ex, or other nonmerlt lector ol the purchaser, user or patron. s. |