'Parting shots' from a departing leader

  • Published
  • By Col. Dan Laro Clark
  • 47th Flying Training Wing vice commander
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  ... "Today I'll ask you to pay really close attention, not just to the next few minutes, but to every single second of the next 52 weeks. Embrace them, cherish them, live each second to the fullest because in the blink of an eye, you'll be walking across this stage, receiving your wings and saying goodbye to the most challenging, rewarding year of your life. Then out the door you'll go, on to your next great adventure"... How many times have I stood on that stage in Anderson Hall and spoken those exact words to a bunch of brand new faces, freshly arrived here at Laughin? And now, way too quickly, it's my turn to say goodbye to the most challenging and rewarding assignment of my career. But before I go, I want to pass along a few "parting shots".

Make no mistake, "Airpower Starts Here" is more than just a neat bumper sticker or an appealing sound bite. It's a fact and I'm never more aware of it than when we graduate that handful of new pilots every three weeks. But I'm made fundamentally aware of it, not by the proud faces walking across the stage, but more so by the proud faces in the audience. Because without the efforts of all those in the auditorium (and hundreds of others), "Airpower" would never quite get off the ground - here or anywhere else. I want to take a moment to say thanks to those "faces in the crowd".

Every single person in this wing makes a daily contribution to growing America's Airpower. An alarm goes off and someone rolls out of bed to make breakfast for a hungry Airman. Now maybe that person is the Airman's wife and then again, maybe it's the smiling cook at Silver Wings. The washing machine spins and stuff comes out clean. Maybe it's the Airman's oldest child doing her chores by washing a flightsuit and maybe it's the Fitness Center Staff finishing up one of the base's daily 15 loads of sheets and towels.

A gloved hand turns an ignition key well before dawn. Maybe it's a fuel truck that coughs to life, bouncing a fuel specialist along enroute to topping off a jet for one of nearly 300 sorties scheduled to fly that day. Maybe it's an airman from Security Forces beginning another day protecting our base. Or maybe, it's the bus that transports our deployers on the first leg of long TDY to some remote part of the world in support of the Global War on Terror.

A whirring sound begins. Maybe it's the dentist, just after saying "open wide" as he ensures one of our pilots is physically ready to fly. "No really, this won't hurt a bit... promise". Or maybe that whirring is the sound of the 10-ton maintenance machine that spins the rapidly rotating assembly used to validate compressor blade length. Maybe it's even the whir of the cooling fans in the computers that power our radar approach control facilities, allowing our RAPCON controllers to safely manage the nation's sixth busiest airfield.

With a deft twist of the wrist, an apron gets tied behind the back. Maybe it's the white, cloth apron of our Club's cook as he begins preparing the Mexican Buffet on Wednesdays. Or maybe it's the gray, leather apron worn by the maintainer servicing liquid oxygen in preparation for another launch.

A stack of paper rustles as a notebook closes. Perhaps it's a dedicated crewchief and instructor pilot, looking over the forms that verify this airframe is ready to fly. It might be the enthusiastic student pilot thumbing through his checklist as he prepares for his initial solo flight. Or maybe it's, the airman over at finance as she closes the books after making certain the pay for an airman basic is finally sorted out. It may even be the sound as the front gate guard finishes the base pass for the parents attending this week's graduation exercise. The sights and sounds go on and on... Airpower waking up, preparing, learning, growing, delivering...

You've all heard, "it takes a village to raise a child". Well I see it slightly differently. I'd submit to you, it takes a Wing, and every single person in it, to build Airpower. And Airmen, from our youngest Airmen Basics to our "wisest" Chief Master Sergeants and Colonels, are what make our nation's military the greatest force in the history of the world. They are our nation's sword and shield, sentry and avenger. And we produce them, right here at sleepy, little Laughlin Air Force Base.

As my time here in Del Rio nears its end, I wanted to take a moment to say a special thank you to each and every one of you for what you do day in and day out. I'm amazed at what you continue to accomplish every day in support of our mission. I'm proud of each of you and consider it an honor to have served with you - as a part of an organization that embraces and personifies our moniker of "Airpower Begins Here".