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***image1***People, aircraft and a commitment to core values have kept U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s top leader in the Air Force more than 31 years, and these same attributes will continue to be the bedrock of the military’s success, Gen. Robert H. “Doc” Foglesong, USAFE commander, said recently.
The integrity, commitment to excellence and service before self of America’s airmen have been inspirational, he said.
“I came in the Air Force 31 years ago, and had every intention of getting out after four years,” said the general, who holds a doctorate in chemical engineering. “I thought it would be pretty exciting to be in the chemical engineering business. But I fell in love with 480 knots and wearing G-suits, and I just never got over it.
“I also enjoy talking with our airmen, and I’ve found that they’re incredible,” said the general, who is a firm believer in keeping grounded and remembering where he came from. “They do an unbelievable job for us, and they hardly ask for anything. So I love people who put service before self. As a result of that, I’ve stuck around this great institution of ours for a long time now and I’ve had a great time doing it.”
His love for America’s airmen became even more prevalent after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
“I was in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, and like everyone else, my life changed forever … this was, in a sense, my generation’s Pearl Harbor,” the general said. “I couldn’t be more proud of how the U.S. Air Force responded over the last couple of years. When the President issued his call for arms, without any doubts, our Air Force stepped forward with great strength. I’m incredibly proud of the initiatives and dedication (of our Air Force).”
This dedication to excellence is also shared within USAFE, said General Foglesong.
“Our goal in USAFE is to be a part of this incredible team that we call the United States Air Force,” he said. “We have contributed over here in the same way that every other major command has – we’ve provided tanker support, tactical airlift support and we’ve provided fighter support – our people have responded all across the world this past year. We’re ready, trained and we’re motivated to go do the job our president has asked us to do. My perspective up to this point is one of great pride as to how everyone has responded, and continues to on a day-to-day basis.”
When looking ahead to the New Year, it’s important that USAFE’s airmen remember the command’s vision, mission and goals, the general said.
“I think if you’ll look at our vision, it probably says it all,” General Foglesong said. “We want to be leading the world’s most respected expeditionary all-purpose Air Force. That’s a mouthful, but all we want to do is be in front of what the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Air Force ask. When they ask us to respond in some way, we would like to be on the leading-edge for them. That’s our vision.
“Our mission is pretty simple,” the general continued. I’ve eliminated all of the acronyms, so that everybody in USAFE – Airman Foglesong up to General Foglesong and everybody in between – understands what our mission is. We all need to know that our mission is to be ready to fight; postured to respond; and provide incredible services to these incredible people we have over here.
“We have now developed what I affectionately refer to as Combat and Special Interest Programs that will allow us to operationalize that mission,” he said. “There are 12 special programs and initiatives that we’ve put together to work on the morale of our people, readiness for our people and services for our people – they are all initiatives that commanders would like to have available. They’re the right things to do, and it allows us to put some discipline and focus as to how we’re going to dedicate our resources over the next year.”
Once such program is Combat Fitness, which fits right in line with the Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s Fit to Fight Program.
“This program ties all of the different initiatives for fitness under one umbrella, so it can be engineered and advocated in the right way,” said the general.
Another program called Combat Flightline is dedicated to enhancing the readiness of not only the most important aspect of our flightline — our people — but also our equipment, General Foglesong said.
“I could go on and tell you about all of the programs, but you get a sense of what I’m talking about. In order to operationalize that mission I referred to earlier – being ready to fight; postured to respond; and providing great services — we’ve now identified these programs as the most logical way to get there,” he said. “I would expect us to continue down the path of working to enhance these programs. And I’m very sure if we’re called on, we’ll be ready to do whatever the President asks us to do.”
As for the future …
“One of these days I’ll be sitting in a rocking chair on a porch at our ranch in Red Lodge, Montana, and I’ll still be telling people that we’re the world’s most inspirational Air Force to our friends, and we’re the world’s most intimidating Air Force to our enemies,” General Foglesong said. “We have people with incredible courage. We have people who lay their lives on the line for this great nation of ours every day.”
airmen remember the command’s vision, mission and goals, the general said.
“I think if you’ll look at our vision, it probably says it all,” General Foglesong said. “We want to be leading the world’s most respected expeditionary all-purpose Air Force. That’s a mouthful, but all we want to do is be in front of what the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Air Force ask. When they ask us to respond in some way, we would like to be on the leading-edge for them. That’s our vision.
“Our mission is pretty simple,” the general continued. I’ve eliminated all of the acronyms, so that everybody in USAFE – Airman Foglesong up to General Foglesong and everybody in between – understands what our mission is. We all need to know that our mission is to be ready to fight; postured to respond; and provide incredible services to these incredible people we have over here.
“We have now developed what I affectionately refer to as Combat and Special Interest Programs that will allow us to operationalize that mission,” he said. “There are 12 special programs and initiatives that we’ve put together to work on the morale of our people, readiness for our people and services for our people – they are all initiatives that commanders would like to have available. They’re the right things to do, and it allows us to put some discipline and focus as to how we’re going to dedicate our resources over the next year.”
Once such program is Combat Fitness, which fits right in line with the Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s Fit to Fight Program.
“This program ties all of the different initiatives for fitness under one umbrella, so it can be engineered and advocated in the right way,” said the general.
Another program called Combat Flightline is dedicated to enhancing the readiness of not only the most important aspect of our flightline — our people — but also our equipment, General Foglesong said.
“I could go on and tell you about all of the programs, but you get a sense of what I’m talking about. In order to operationalize that mission I referred to earlier – being ready to fight; postured to respond; and providing great services — we’ve now identified these programs as the most logical way to get there,” he said. “I would expect us to continue down the path of working to enhance these programs. And I’m very sure if we’re called on, we’ll be ready to do whatever the President asks us to do.”
As for the future …
“One of these days I’ll be sitting in a rocking chair on a porch at our ranch in Red Lodge, Montana, and I’ll still be telling people that we’re the world’s most inspirational Air Force to our friends, and we’re the world’s most intimidating Air Force to our enemies,” General Foglesong said. “We have people with incredible courage. We have people who lay their lives on the line for this great nation of ours every day.”
