COMPACAF explains PACAF's road ahead
Feb. 14, 2003
By 1st Lt. David Faggard
Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii - The Pacific Air Forces commander recently shared his views on current issues including PACAF's role in the Aerospace Expeditionary Force, the need for vaccinations against weapons of mass destruction, rising world tensions, and operations tempo.
General Bill Begert's focus of the interview was targeted at one underlying point--he wants to ensure all PACAF troops are ready to do their job anywhere and at anytime when called upon.
"My number one priority is readiness," said General Begert. "With the global war on terror, the heightened tensions in the Gulf region and in North Korea, I'm focused even more on readiness, and I want to make sure airmen are ready to do their duty; that they're trained and equipped properly, they're ready emotionally and they're ready physically to go out and do the best job they can," he said.
The general stated the AEF process of deployments most airmen are familiar with would be the standard for troops headed into the field, however it's a flexible and fluid process that may go through changes. As was seen in a Jan. 28 statement from Gen. John Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, the process and design of deploying forces is a flexible system that changes with the needs of the war-fighting commander.
"This is an interesting time in America; troops are deploying to all ends of the earth fighting terrorism and other forces which threaten the western way of life," said General Begert. "Airmen have deviated from the typical 90-day AEF flow of forces in order to better support combatant commanders, ensuring they have the most qualified men and women in the field to ensure 100% mission accomplishment," the general said.
According to the general, it will take time to get back into a pace of normalcy, however with the way things are changing everyday in the world, airmen of all ranks should be prepared.
"When able, we will return to a more normalized AEF battle rhythm. We'll continue to assess the evolving situation and develop rotation plans, planning for reconstitution of the force and explore all options to relieve stress on our most important assets, the airmen," said the commander. "We need to ensure we are ready for anything that our President and our nation asks of us."
With more airmen being deployed in support of current operations against terrorism, the threat of weapons of mass destruction and the vaccines to combat them is a fact of life for deploying airmen.
"Anthrax and Smallpox are just two examples of the kinds of threats we face today with WMD, which is why the President and the country is focused so much on nations like North Korea and Iraq. There are also terrorists groups who may be interested in acquiring and using these weapons," said the general.
According to the general, being inoculated against Anthrax and Smallpox are very important parts of deterrence, and if we happen to conduct an actual operation in a WMD environment, it's a very important part of being able to accomplish the mission.
Medical troops and those deploying to certain locations have already received the Smallpox vaccine.
"Like the rest of the country, we're being very selective as we start into the new regime of Smallpox vaccinations," said General Begert, noting that the Smallpox vaccine is nothing new and many in today's Air Force have probably had it before.
"Some of us at my age have taken multiple Smallpox vaccinations," said General Begert. "I had it in grammar school, and I had it twice early in my Air Force career. This is something that will not be trivially done, but will be something that we will do very carefully and deliberately, to have the right people vaccinated at the right time," he said.
Operations tempo is a main concern for troops in PACAF and the current exercise schedule is being looked at for compatibility with today's ongoing force requirements.
"We're going to look at all our exercises and make sure we're getting the most out of them while supporting our combatant commander," said General Begert. "The ops tempo is so high right now we have to be very careful; if we add exercises, we must ensure they're done for a very important purpose," he said.
The general expressed the importance of PACAF, what's going on in the world, and what it means to him.
"We live right now in a very important time in American history," said Gen. Begert. "Serving in uniform has never been more important. I think this coming year, with the global war on terrorism, a looming crisis in Iraq and a potential crisis in North Korea; this is a time where it's a great privilege to wear the uniform. Even our youngest airman, 40 or 50 years from now, will be able to tell their children and grandchildren 'I served in the United States Air Force in 2003,' and that will say it all. There's a lot to be proud of these days while wearing the uniform of the U.S. Air Force," he said. (PACAFNS)
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