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Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa commander, and Command Chief Master Sgt. Craig A. Adams held their first USAFE-AFAFRICA all-call Nov. 13 on Ramstein to praise personnel for their achievements and address issues impacting the Air Force.
The general opened the all-call by recognizing Airmen who were recently selected for promotion, command and professional military education. He followed the recognition portion with a brief overview of the command’s involvement over the past few months. Activities included the recent NATO Air Chiefs Symposium and Regional Air Chiefs Conference, which highlighted air mobility, NCO training and ISR capabilities to NATO and West African air chiefs. The majority of the call focused on a theme Breedlove said he will continue to use when talking about being a responsible Airman: “Every Airman a Sensor.” He said fighter aircraft have many tools to track, identify and even destroy a target including GPS navigation, radar, or a laser targeting pod. During a mission, flight conditions determine which sensors will be used to find a target, so all sensors should be prepared to respond.
He said Airmen should think along similar lines within the workplace to help identify potential threats.
“The first thing we can do in this battle is to think of every one of us as a sensor in the workplace,” the general said. “I believe that when an Airman, NCO or officer is having a problem that could eventually end up in a suicide – almost every time – the people around that person will first notice or begin to worry about the possibility the person will hurt himself.” The general stressed that being a sensor includes all employees, not only military personnel. It is Airmen with a big “A,” military and civilian personnel, who are responsible for staying alert for signs of suicidal intentions. Breedlove said that vigilance is important in other areas as well.
“When it comes to sexual assault I believe the same is true,” he said. The bottom line is offenders in sexual assault are often predators by nature. “If you believe the statistics,… there are predators standing amongst us today,…. these people have wrong thoughts and will use offensive tactics to have their way with our fellow Airmen.”
He said Airmen need to watch for the signs and report them. “Quite frankly we have enough enemies in this world,” Breedlove said. “What we don’t need is Airmen with predatory behavior against other Airmen. It is my belief that in most cases we know who these predatory Airmen are and we don’t need them in our Air Force.” Adams reinforced the general’s message. He said supervisors need to know their Airmen, get in their business and ask questions, and be aggressive about it.
“This is a family business,” the chief said. “There’s no place in our Air Force for sexual assaults or suicides. This is our problem to solve.” “I think an Airman who has the guts to stand up for a fellow Airman is a hero,” Breedlove said. “Be a hero.” Breedlove and Adams finished the call by answering questions from the audience including one concerning possible impacts of sequestration. “I echo what our Air Force leadership has said; there will be no hollow force,” the general said. “We may have to become smaller, but we will maintain a well-trained and superbly capable military.”
