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Maintaining the status as the world’s premiere Air Force has its challenges, but it’s how Airmen perceive those challenges that makes the difference between success and failure, said U.S. Air Forces in Europe Commander Gen. Roger A. Brady.
“We are going through challenging times,” said the commander, who addressed 143 Kisling NCO Academy students June 19. “You’ve deployed quite a bit and have a lot of experience in expeditionary warfare. When we face challenges, it’s how we view it that will help us overcome them.”
Some difficulties come in the form of high operations tempo, low manning and budget constraints, which the commander insisted are the same issues the Air Force dealt with after the Vietnam conflict and in the post-Cold War ’90s.
“There was a lot of turmoil in our past, but we still emerged as the premiere Air Force in the world,” General Brady said. “We have an eye on the OPSTEMPO. Our equipment – all aerial systems are harder to maintain. We also deal with flat or declining budgets. We have to figure out smarter ways of doing things. We must acknowledge our challenges, focus on advantages and dispute old ways of doing things.”
As blue suitors take care of the mission, the Air Force takes good care of them, the general said.
The Air Force is supporting its wingmen by providing world-class health care, a retirement system, quality housing and dormitories that are clean, safe and secure.
In closing, General Brady conveyed the sentiments of psychiatrist, published author and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, who compared those who persevered in death camps and those who didn’t.
“The difference was the way they viewed their experiences,” the general said. “What happens to you in life is not as important as how you react to it, and you have total control of that. We are going to face many challenges in our future. Continue to get the job done in a spectacular way. If we continue to be professional Airmen, we can rise to the challenges that lie ahead.”
