85th Group stands down Suite 5 Suite 5 85th ... - RAF Lakenheath

CommandersForumCelebrating Our FreedomBy Brig. Gen. Robert P. Steel48th Fighter Wing Commander“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are createdequal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienableRights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit ofHappiness.”On July 4, 1776, our forefathers declared the United States ofAmerica a free and independent country. The Declaration ofIndependence is not only a statement of freedom, it is a documenteach and every one of us in service should hold dear. These wordsdeclare the duty we were sworn to do.As military members, part of our job is to ensure our country isnot stripped of the rights given by our forefathers. We help ensureAmericans have the opportunity to live freely and safely.As you take time this long Independence Day weekend to relaxand celebrate our country’s independence, also take some time toreflect on the sacrifices our forefathers, and those before us, made toACTION LINEprotect the rights and freedoms we, as Americans, stand for.Remember the Soldiers, Marines and Airmen who are drivingconvoys in Iraq, while seperated from their loved ones. Rememberour brothers and sisters living in harms way paying the price forfreedom. Remember those we have lost defending our great nation.Just as important as remembering our deployed servicemembersthis holiday week, is remembering to take care of ourselves and protectAmerica’s greatest asset—each other.I want everyone to enjoy themselves and have a great time celebratingour nation’s birth, but if you’re going to drink, do it responsibly.Have a plan and stick to it. Utilize the Liberty Wing’s ProjectZOT and Wingman programs to ensure we all come back to workhealthy on July 5. I am proud of our current DUI track record—we’ve decreased our wing DUI rate last year by almost 50 percent.It is because we have smart Airmen making smart decisions.Thanks to all of you who already celebrate safely. Keep it goingthis holiday weekend and keep the spirit our forefathers inspired bywriting the Declaration of Independence 230 years ago with yourcontinued dedicated service to our nation.The Action Line is your direct link to me for complaints, suggestions or comments. It’s not intended to replace the chainof command. When normal command agency channels haven’t been able to resolve your concerns, call 226-2324, fax 226-5637, e-mail (Action.Line@lakenheath.af.mil), send through distribution (48 FW/PA), mail (48FW/PA, Unit 5210 Box 215APO AE 09461-0215) or hand carry your Action Line to the public affairs office (Building 1085). You may remain anonymous;however, to receive a reply, please leave your name, unit, duty or home phone number and full APO mailing address.Names are confidential.Q:occurrence they get a four day weekend every time there is a holiday,My concern is our weekends here at RAF Lakenheath comparedto Mildenhall. As you know we were DUI free for 80-plus days andare in condition green. Also, we are consistently meeting our monthlysortie goals. I appreciated the three-day Memorial Day weekend,but Mildenhall had a four-day weekend. It seems to be a commonwhile Lakenheath gets the normal two-day or rarely a three-dayweekend. For example, this past Easter we had training days onFriday and the following Monday, while Mildenhall had a four-dayweekend. Also, the maintenance group had a day off recently but therest of the base had to work, leaving lots of shops with no work to do,but still having to be on duty. This has been a real morale killer in myshop and many others. The number one thing that could boost moraleis time-off, compared to any other sort of event.A:– consistently meeting our flying goals.Thank you for bringing this issue to light as I’m sure you are notthe only person with this question. First, I am very proud of ourwing’s efforts to curb DUIs, resulting in a 48 percent decrease inthese incidents during the last year. Second, I am also very proud ofour ability to accomplish our demanding mission day in and day outThat said, although we have much in common with our friends atRAF Mildenhall, we have two distinct missions; so, there will betimes we do not have the same down days. It’s this difference in missionthat dictates the time off we are able to take, which is why youmay see Team Liberty on duty while Team Mildenhall is off or viceversa. Although it may appear Mildenhall has a day off, remembertheir airfield never closes. Running a 24/7, 365 days-a-year flight lineoperation is a pace we do not share at RAF Lakenheath. Therefore,when the rest of our two bases have off on weekends and holidays,the RAF Mildenhall air traffic controllers, operators, maintainers andoperations support personnel still must work.Goal days, training days and other “no-fly” days are programmedduring September, before the beginning of the fiscal year. These daysare based on various factors specific to our wing, such as higherheadquarters’ requirements, training, deployments and money. Theyare often on different days from other bases across Europe and the AirForce who may have the day off. Each group tries to compensate withtime off for their units on alternative days if the mission requiresAirmen to work during a holiday weekend. Recently the ops groupand maintenance group took a day off while the rest of the baseworked, as an example.Every Liberty Warrior works hard to make our mission happen.Therefore, it is important we spread valuable down days evenlyacross the wing, so everyone can enjoy time off with family andfriends. I understand there is a natural impact on morale at a basewith such a vigorous operations tempo. For this reason, it is importanteveryone get out and enjoy themselves during the down time wedo have scheduled, and do so in a safe manner.PAGE 4 JET 48 MAGAZINEJUNE 30, 2006