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Air mobility commander tours McGuire AFB

  • Published
  • By 2 Lt. Michael Hogg
  • 305 Air Mobility Wing Public Afffairs
MCGUIRE AFB, N.J. --  Air Mobility Command's eighth commander visited McGuire Air Force Base to get a first hand view of its mission and meet with Airmen, October 15-17. 

McGuire is the third base visit Gen. Arthur J. Lichte has made since taking command of AMC Sept 7. AMC Command Chief Master Sgt. Joseph Barron, accompanied the general on the visit.
 
The general departed with a very positive impression of the Can Do wing and its Airmen. 

"The people here at McGuire all have great attitudes, and are certainly capable of completing the mission," said the general. "I met Airmen here who have been on active duty for two weeks all the way up to four years, and all of them had great goals and aspirations to make McGuire a better place for everybody," he said.

 
The general made stops at the 514th Reserve Air Mobility Wing and the 108th Air National Guard Refueling Wing.
 
During his visit to the 108th, the general, along with New Jersey Congressman Jim Saxton and Brig. Gen. Michael Cunniff, 108th Air Refueling Wing commander, ushered in the arrival of the first KC-135R to the wing.
 
General Lichte is a firm believer in the "Total Force" concept and the active duty partnership with the Guard and Reserve.
 
"In AMC, a full 60 percent of the (mission) contributions are made by the Guard and Reserve," said the general. "As we look into the future, we are going to see more and more associations with the Guard and Reserve as a better way to do business," he added.
 
Joint basing with Fort Dix and Naval Engineering Station Lakehurst was also a topic of discussion for the general. He was pleased with the progression of the joint-basing initiative at McGuire.
 
"Leadership from all three services involved - Air Force, Army and Navy - have great plans for joint basing. In the end, joint basing is about combining resources and efficiently working together," said the general. 

McGuire's new commander, Col. Balan Ayyar, ended the general's stay by presenting him with a token of appreciation from all Airmen at McGuire. 

After his three-day visit, General Lichte had only positive things to say about his stay at McGuire. 

"We were certainly impressed everywhere we went, and we will have to come back to continue our new friendships with not only the Airmen at McGuire, but the surrounding community as well."