News Search

ArticleS

19th AF commander focuses on efficiency

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jasmine Reif
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Become more efficient without sacrificing integrity was the message to Luke Airmen Tuesday during a commander's call from Maj. Gen. Mark Solo, 19th Air Force commander.

General Solo visited Luke for two days as part of a base orientation tour. He attended briefings, toured units and met many Airmen to get a first-hand understanding of the mission at the Air Force's largest fighter wing.

At the beginning of his commander's call, General Solo highlighted many of the recent accomplishments of the wing, to include Air Force awards and medals, and the successful Luke Days open house.

"I am extremely proud to be able to present two Bronze Stars to such deserving Airmen," he said. "Not many people in the military receive that medal. There are many accomplishments at Luke, to include winning best Air Force unit, and it doesn't go unrecognized that Airmen work day in and day out to train hundreds of pilots for the Air Force each year."

Despite high deployment rates and the threat of increasing budget cuts, General Solo stressed his confidence in the abilities of Airmen to step up to the tasks and continue accomplishing the mission.

"Not much keeps me up at night, but the safety of our Airmen is critical, and when people begin to get creative and in the process disregard regulations, it is wrong," General Solo said. "There have been many examples of this over the past few years at other bases across the Air Force and the results have always been negative. Many examples were given, such as flyovers performed at unsafe elevations, resulting in the discharge of a pilot and extended duty day sorties that resulted in a lost jet because of mistakes made on approach when landing. In one case, a unit was using expired parts because they thought it was more efficient than just throwing them away and using the newer models."

General Solo explained that regardless of the fact they meant well, regulations and guidance take priority.

"There is a trend for people to try and be creative and efficient, but they are ignoring regulations in the process," he said. "I ask, I beg and encourage you in this time of budget cuts, efficiency and deployments that you keep your situational awareness and heads up and continue to accomplish the mission with pride. Encourage each other to do the right thing, and we will make it through tough times without loss of life or resources."