WEBVTT 00:00.418 --> 00:01.251 - Good, good. 00:01.251 --> 00:05.418 So first let me say thank you to the honorable Mr. Peters, 00:06.118 --> 00:10.285 General Spencer, and all of AFA for this wonderful symposium 00:11.805 --> 00:15.652 for taking such good care over all of the years, 00:15.652 --> 00:18.357 of our Air Force and all of our airmen, 00:18.357 --> 00:19.692 so thank you very much. 00:19.692 --> 00:21.942 (applause) 00:24.317 --> 00:26.157 I'd also like to say welcome to 00:26.157 --> 00:29.734 the honorable Madame Secretary, Ms. Disbrow, 00:29.734 --> 00:32.901 my boss and wingman, General Goldfein. 00:33.649 --> 00:36.950 I didn't see our Vice-Chief, but maybe he's here. 00:36.950 --> 00:40.367 Our MAJCOM commanders, all of the chiefs, 00:40.502 --> 00:42.474 our 12 outstanding airmen of the year, 00:42.474 --> 00:43.307 it's great to see you, 00:43.307 --> 00:44.959 looking forward to spending some more time 00:44.959 --> 00:46.678 with you later this week, 00:46.678 --> 00:48.698 and certainly to all the airmen 00:48.698 --> 00:50.520 who were able to make it out today. 00:50.520 --> 00:52.937 This is an amazing symposium. 00:57.558 --> 00:59.298 Like Denise said in the intro, 00:59.298 --> 01:01.477 I have two very important roles 01:01.477 --> 01:04.964 as your 18th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. 01:04.964 --> 01:07.775 The first one, well actually, I think people know 01:07.775 --> 01:10.073 about each one of them, but the first one 01:10.073 --> 01:13.740 is, maybe every airman knows, as the advisor 01:14.298 --> 01:16.881 to the Secretary and the Chief, 01:16.917 --> 01:19.417 on all matters that affect the 01:20.145 --> 01:23.895 close to 390,000 total force enlisted airmen. 01:25.627 --> 01:28.547 But I think I have a more significant 01:28.547 --> 01:32.380 and more important role, is to be an advocate, 01:33.777 --> 01:37.277 a voice, a champion for each and every one 01:38.185 --> 01:40.751 of those airmen and their families. 01:40.751 --> 01:43.267 So that's what I'd like to talk to you a little bit 01:43.267 --> 01:47.434 about today, is how I can help each of you stay ready 01:53.055 --> 01:55.305 every day, in every domain, 01:57.107 --> 02:00.107 to accomplish our Air Force mission. 02:00.216 --> 02:02.588 I think the most significant thing that I can do 02:02.588 --> 02:05.625 for all of our commanders, for all of our airmen, 02:05.625 --> 02:07.110 is to make sure that our airmen 02:07.110 --> 02:10.610 are well-trained, well-led, and resilient. 02:12.306 --> 02:15.220 I'd really like to talk about those just a little bit. 02:15.220 --> 02:19.387 I think training has to be the foundation for us as airmen. 02:21.565 --> 02:24.633 I grew up as an athlete, a sports guy, a basketball player, 02:24.633 --> 02:27.142 ^a little bit of football in my earlier days, 02:27.142 --> 02:30.720 ^and I learned very early and it still holds true today, 02:30.720 --> 02:34.553 ^that you don't become a champion on the field. 02:36.853 --> 02:39.603 You become a champion in practice 02:40.247 --> 02:43.080 through focus, delivery, training. 02:45.633 --> 02:48.773 Now, I know a boss of mine once taught me 02:48.773 --> 02:51.734 that it's the responsibility of every leader 02:51.734 --> 02:54.332 when it comes to making sure that his organization 02:54.332 --> 02:56.698 is ready to execute the mission, 02:56.698 --> 02:59.830 that it's a commander's and a chief's responsibility 02:59.830 --> 03:03.997 to take that organization and train em and prepare em 03:04.598 --> 03:08.681 so hard, you push em right to the edge of mutiny. 03:12.324 --> 03:14.593 Then you allow em to recover. 03:14.593 --> 03:16.184 That's the type of focused training 03:16.184 --> 03:18.245 that I think all of our airmen need. 03:18.245 --> 03:19.481 That's the type of focused training 03:19.481 --> 03:21.940 that I think will allow our commanders, 03:21.940 --> 03:24.525 so one of General Goldfein's priorities 03:24.525 --> 03:27.025 is revitalizing our squadrons. 03:28.443 --> 03:30.943 The best thing that we can do, 03:31.146 --> 03:34.646 we can provide squadron commanders more authority, 03:34.646 --> 03:37.396 we can provide em more resources, 03:37.404 --> 03:38.843 but the best thing that we can do 03:38.843 --> 03:40.320 particularly as enlisted airmen 03:40.320 --> 03:44.487 as many of our squadrons are about 85% to 90% enlisted. 03:46.870 --> 03:48.862 The best thing that we can do is make sure 03:48.862 --> 03:51.779 that those airmen are well-trained. 03:52.416 --> 03:53.920 So I want to make sure that we focus on it. 03:53.920 --> 03:55.365 I want to put the focus back on, 03:55.365 --> 03:58.116 making sure that we're trained every single day. 03:58.116 --> 04:00.665 That means taking advantage of some of the things 04:00.665 --> 04:03.448 that General Roberson is doing in AETC, 04:03.448 --> 04:05.371 advancing our continuum of learning, 04:05.371 --> 04:08.704 and some of the other things that we're doing in Cyber 04:08.704 --> 04:11.621 with some of the training programs. 04:13.851 --> 04:17.018 I've had an opportunity over the last, 04:17.158 --> 04:20.329 let's say, 10 years or so, to get out and do training 04:20.329 --> 04:22.662 with a number of our airmen. 04:23.421 --> 04:27.027 POL airmen doing hot pits, shoot, move, and communicate 04:27.027 --> 04:29.062 with some of our defenders. 04:29.062 --> 04:32.979 Let me tell you, training makes the difference. 04:34.299 --> 04:38.216 Not only do our airmen need to be well-trained, 04:39.765 --> 04:43.356 but I also believe they need to be well led, 04:43.356 --> 04:46.027 which is another key focus area for me, 04:46.027 --> 04:50.194 that will help me support General Goldfein's priorities. 04:52.519 --> 04:55.689 Leadership for me, centers around helping us 04:55.689 --> 04:57.891 become better at managing our talent. 04:57.891 --> 05:01.143 I look forward to working with General Grosso, our A1, 05:01.143 --> 05:04.145 and General Roberson, and actually, General Wilson, 05:04.145 --> 05:06.180 our Vice-Chief, on improving 05:06.180 --> 05:07.973 our talent management processes, 05:07.973 --> 05:10.636 particularly for our enlisted airmen. 05:10.636 --> 05:14.803 The goal: how do we get the right airmen in the right place 05:15.874 --> 05:20.041 with the right skillset and experience at the right time, 05:21.704 --> 05:25.537 and think about this, with the right attitude. 05:29.346 --> 05:32.513 Now we have a lot of systems in place. 05:33.026 --> 05:35.373 Some of our systems, I would venture to say, 05:35.373 --> 05:39.540 I won't say they're out-dated, but we're in the 21st century 05:40.256 --> 05:42.010 and we need to update some of our systems 05:42.010 --> 05:45.260 that prohibit us from actually ensuring 05:45.392 --> 05:47.642 that we get that mix right. 05:48.380 --> 05:51.360 I'd like to focus on our talent management processes, 05:51.360 --> 05:53.693 to make sure that we get our commanders 05:53.693 --> 05:56.443 the right leaders in the right place at the right time. 05:56.443 --> 05:59.413 I really want to focus on this right attitude, 05:59.413 --> 06:00.787 because when I talk about attitude. 06:00.787 --> 06:03.911 I once heard that talent is interesting 06:03.911 --> 06:05.861 but character is everything. 06:05.861 --> 06:10.028 So how do we mix in this idea of, I think it's a little easy 06:11.005 --> 06:12.681 for us to make sure we have 06:12.681 --> 06:16.181 right person, right place, right skillset. 06:16.386 --> 06:18.886 Right attitude is challenging. 06:21.919 --> 06:26.086 We've had some issues over the years and recently. 06:29.468 --> 06:30.968 I'll talk about some of our senior leaders, 06:30.968 --> 06:33.968 some of my peers, not doing so well, 06:35.305 --> 06:39.472 actually having to be removed from certain positions. 06:40.691 --> 06:44.774 It's hard for me to think of many of these airmen 06:45.039 --> 06:47.177 that were removed for incompetence, 06:47.177 --> 06:49.743 because they didn't have the right skillset, 06:49.743 --> 06:51.436 because it wasn't the right time, 06:51.436 --> 06:54.436 they didn't have the right training. 06:55.100 --> 06:58.433 Almost all of them have been because ... 07:00.456 --> 07:03.585 Character, they didn't have the right character. 07:03.585 --> 07:04.525 We have to fix that. 07:04.525 --> 07:07.604 We owe our airmen much better than that. 07:07.604 --> 07:11.068 I'll work again with all the various agencies. 07:11.068 --> 07:12.655 I'm really looking forward to working with 07:12.655 --> 07:14.314 our career field managers, and I know we have 07:14.314 --> 07:17.397 some of them here today, to make sure 07:17.656 --> 07:18.958 that we get this mix right. 07:18.958 --> 07:22.148 A lot of our career fields are now doing vectoring. 07:22.148 --> 07:24.003 They have part of the mix right. 07:24.003 --> 07:28.170 We need to pull AFPC into this process as much as we can 07:28.804 --> 07:31.105 and become as efficient as we can to make sure 07:31.105 --> 07:34.639 that we get these airmen where they need to be. 07:34.639 --> 07:37.751 Not only do they need to be well-trained, 07:37.751 --> 07:40.361 they need to be well led, and the way that you get 07:40.361 --> 07:42.873 the right leaders in the right place, 07:42.873 --> 07:46.003 is through deliberate development and talent management. 07:46.003 --> 07:50.086 Probably the most important area that concerns me 07:50.158 --> 07:54.325 is resilience, which is the third area that I like to focus. 07:58.593 --> 07:59.929 It's tough right now. 07:59.929 --> 08:03.172 It's tough in our United States Air Force right now 08:03.172 --> 08:06.459 to be an airman, given the resource constraints, 08:06.459 --> 08:08.055 given the manning constraints, 08:08.055 --> 08:10.340 the high ops tempo, the multiple deployments. 08:10.340 --> 08:11.680 Many of our young airmen 08:11.680 --> 08:15.547 have families, and we all know the various struggles 08:15.547 --> 08:17.156 that we go through throughout our career. 08:17.156 --> 08:18.906 It's tough right now. 08:20.416 --> 08:24.583 As I look into the future, as I think about global security, 08:25.129 --> 08:29.046 as I think about the level of unpredictability, 08:29.617 --> 08:33.784 the level of instability that could potentially occur 08:35.041 --> 08:37.541 in our world, what do you see? 08:38.232 --> 08:41.279 Do you think it gets easier or tougher as an airman, 08:41.279 --> 08:43.327 when you start thinking about the four plus one, 08:43.327 --> 08:47.077 when you start thinking about Iraq and Syria? 08:47.399 --> 08:48.618 When you think about what's happening, 08:48.618 --> 08:50.837 the challenges that we have in Africa, 08:50.837 --> 08:52.404 the challenges that we have 08:52.404 --> 08:54.879 with violent extremist organizations. 08:54.879 --> 08:58.129 Do you think it gets easier or tougher? 09:01.060 --> 09:02.643 Yeah, gets tougher. 09:03.604 --> 09:06.854 Now, what I would hope that our airmen, 09:07.452 --> 09:11.369 our greatest resource, our strategic advantage, 09:11.586 --> 09:15.336 what I would hope that the normal response to 09:17.148 --> 09:18.892 what could potentially happen in the future 09:18.892 --> 09:21.642 is you know what Chief, I got it. 09:21.652 --> 09:23.502 I'm going to take care of myself physically, 09:23.502 --> 09:25.596 mentally, spiritually, I'm going to make sure 09:25.596 --> 09:26.996 I have a good social network. 09:26.996 --> 09:29.244 I'm going to make sure that I utilize the resources 09:29.244 --> 09:32.319 that are available to me across the base, 09:32.319 --> 09:34.159 all the helping agencies, all the things 09:34.159 --> 09:37.112 that are already baked into our Air Force 09:37.112 --> 09:38.461 to help me become resilient. 09:38.461 --> 09:41.544 I'm going to be innovative, creative, 09:41.882 --> 09:43.759 and I'm going to handle it, I got it. 09:43.759 --> 09:46.342 It's tough Chief, but I got it. 09:51.556 --> 09:55.223 I think some of you will have that response, 09:56.129 --> 09:59.629 and others will have a different response. 10:02.941 --> 10:06.416 How do we ensure that, as we move forward, 10:06.416 --> 10:09.083 all of our airmen are resilient? 10:09.729 --> 10:12.562 Not only the airmen are resilient; 10:13.679 --> 10:16.762 their families are resilient as well. 10:17.090 --> 10:20.821 Again, we have tons of programs already in place, right, 10:20.821 --> 10:24.104 so I don't need to build anything, I don't need to come up 10:24.104 --> 10:26.937 with any new great bounding ideas. 10:27.818 --> 10:30.477 All I want to do is to make sure that we integrate 10:30.477 --> 10:33.115 the programs that we already have, 10:33.115 --> 10:34.268 and that we present them in a way 10:34.268 --> 10:37.935 that airmen feel comfortable utilizing them. 10:41.494 --> 10:45.494 If we can get in a situation as we move forward, 10:47.576 --> 10:51.743 where airmen are well-trained, well-led, and resilient, 10:53.173 --> 10:55.937 we will continue to possess the strategic advantage 10:55.937 --> 10:57.274 that we have today because, 10:57.274 --> 10:59.048 let me tell you, it's our airmen. 10:59.048 --> 11:01.662 I've had the pleasure over the last ten years 11:01.662 --> 11:04.662 of working with a lot of air forces, 11:05.853 --> 11:08.270 in the Pacific with the ROCAF 11:08.826 --> 11:11.549 and the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, 11:11.549 --> 11:14.137 certainly in Europe with all of our NATO partners 11:14.137 --> 11:16.387 and allies, in Afghanistan, 11:16.471 --> 11:19.221 in Israel, with those air forces. 11:19.396 --> 11:23.063 They all bring something great to the table, 11:25.478 --> 11:28.895 but there's one reason, one reason alone, 11:30.558 --> 11:32.865 that we as the United States Air Force, 11:32.865 --> 11:35.615 possess this strategic advantage. 11:39.332 --> 11:43.499 Not the technology, not these fancy blue suits, our airmen. 11:46.254 --> 11:50.421 That is the greatest contribution that I believe I can make 11:50.608 --> 11:54.775 to you, and to these two sitting on the front row. 11:55.040 --> 11:58.439 I'm really looking forward to, as General Davis 11:58.439 --> 12:02.606 and Chief Stamper tackle revitalizing the squadrons, 12:03.944 --> 12:06.354 augmenting and helping to make sure again, 12:06.354 --> 12:08.521 that the airmen are ready. 12:09.065 --> 12:12.898 As General Killough and Chief Thompson work on 12:17.570 --> 12:19.806 developing our joint leaders, this is where 12:19.806 --> 12:23.300 the talent management will pay dividends for us, 12:23.300 --> 12:26.357 making sure that we as enlisted airmen, 12:26.357 --> 12:28.577 are providing the right talent to our joint force, 12:28.577 --> 12:31.074 that they have the right leadership skills, 12:31.074 --> 12:35.241 that they have the right attitude, the right character. 12:35.628 --> 12:39.378 As General Saltzman and Chief Stafford tackle 12:39.948 --> 12:42.717 multi-demand command and control, same thing. 12:42.717 --> 12:45.192 We have to make sure that those airmen that we present, 12:45.192 --> 12:47.709 particularly are well-trained in this business. 12:47.709 --> 12:49.585 You know General Carlisle just talked about 12:49.585 --> 12:51.835 some of the complexities of 12:52.224 --> 12:54.661 multi-domain command and control. 12:54.661 --> 12:58.828 We have some very special airmen at work in this business. 13:11.694 --> 13:14.050 I'm really excited about this opportunity 13:14.050 --> 13:16.962 to serve as your 18th Chief Master Sergeant 13:16.962 --> 13:18.379 of the Air Force. 13:19.158 --> 13:21.507 My wife, Tonya, is extremely excited 13:21.507 --> 13:24.174 about this opportunity to serve. 13:25.291 --> 13:27.874 We look forward to getting out, 13:28.367 --> 13:30.272 spending time with each of you. 13:30.272 --> 13:32.841 We look forward to helping you make a difference. 13:32.841 --> 13:36.694 One of the things that I really look forward to is 13:36.694 --> 13:39.236 you helping me get to the ground troops, 13:39.236 --> 13:43.153 which is tough for all of us as senior leaders, 13:44.453 --> 13:47.159 helping me understand how I can best serve you, 13:47.159 --> 13:49.159 how I can best help you. 13:57.301 --> 14:01.329 I'd be remiss if I didn't say welcome and thank you 14:01.329 --> 14:04.184 to one of the pioneers of the position 14:04.184 --> 14:07.934 that I hold today, I see Chief Gerald Murray, 14:09.016 --> 14:10.789 one of our former Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, 14:10.789 --> 14:13.622 so thank you Chief for being here. 14:14.109 --> 14:16.359 (applause) 14:21.321 --> 14:24.960 Again, well-trained, well-led, resilient airmen 14:24.960 --> 14:28.960 will ensure we maintain our strategic advantage, 14:29.598 --> 14:33.765 will ensure we can always be there in every domain, 14:36.103 --> 14:39.186 every component, any time, any place. 14:39.407 --> 14:40.534 Thank you very much. 14:40.534 --> 14:43.411 I hope you have some good questions for me. 14:43.411 --> 14:45.661 (applause) 14:50.204 --> 14:53.006 I think I bought us some time back. 14:53.006 --> 14:55.619 - Thank you Chief Wright, for that informative presentation 14:55.619 --> 14:57.337 and for joining us this year. 14:57.337 --> 14:59.068 We ask that you please remain on stage 14:59.068 --> 15:01.318 for a special presentation. 15:04.776 --> 15:05.965 - [Announcer] Would the Team of the Year 15:05.965 --> 15:08.298 members please come forward? 15:12.111 --> 15:16.111 The recipients of the 2017 Richard L. Etchberger 15:17.776 --> 15:21.117 Team of the Year Award, displayed leadership, 15:21.117 --> 15:24.867 inspiration, and superior technical expertise 15:25.780 --> 15:29.030 in the Air Transportation Career field. 15:29.336 --> 15:31.543 Their combined efforts were responsible 15:31.543 --> 15:35.126 for moving more than 1.8 million passengers 15:36.200 --> 15:40.367 and 735,000 tons of cargo, on 334 Department of Defense 15:43.465 --> 15:47.048 airlift missions, supporting 113 locations. 15:49.719 --> 15:53.802 In 2016, over 1,000 of America's air transporters 15:55.406 --> 15:59.573 were deployed to 26 locations, supporting the global war 16:00.290 --> 16:04.457 on terror and nine separate disaster relief operations, 16:06.088 --> 16:10.255 delivering aid to 12 million civilians in dire need. 16:12.341 --> 16:16.091 The sun never sets on America's transporters. 16:16.761 --> 16:20.586 They are on duty 24 hours a day from the North Pole 16:20.586 --> 16:24.669 to the South Pole, and in almost every time zone. 16:25.625 --> 16:29.792 Accepting today, on behalf of more than 25,000 active duty 16:31.180 --> 16:34.595 and air reserve component air transporters, 16:34.595 --> 16:38.012 is Chief Master Sergeant Darius Drummond, 16:39.307 --> 16:43.140 the 2T2 career field manager from the Pentagon 16:43.642 --> 16:46.392 in Washington D.C., and his team. 16:48.498 --> 16:50.668 A round of applause please. 16:50.668 --> 16:52.918 (applause) 17:10.795 --> 17:11.775 - Thank you Chief Wright. 17:11.775 --> 17:13.744 AFA truly appreciates your support, 17:13.744 --> 17:17.082 and congratulations to the 2017 Team of the Year. 17:17.082 --> 17:19.344 We have time now for a few questions. 17:19.344 --> 17:22.344 We'll start with our first question. 17:22.764 --> 17:25.068 In your discussion on talent management, 17:25.068 --> 17:29.055 where do you see the role of the squadron commander? 17:29.055 --> 17:31.269 - Right, so I think the squadron commander plays 17:31.269 --> 17:34.602 a very critical role in managing talent. 17:35.651 --> 17:38.700 Right now, one of the things that we've begun 17:38.700 --> 17:40.577 over the last five years or so, and I think most 17:40.577 --> 17:42.547 of the career fields are doing it now, 17:42.547 --> 17:45.714 is EDTs, Enlisted Developmental Teams. 17:46.044 --> 17:48.105 We have a group of, like Chief Drummond 17:48.105 --> 17:49.791 who was just up here, we have a group 17:49.791 --> 17:51.829 of senior enlisted leaders across 17:51.829 --> 17:55.746 this particular career field who come together. 17:56.018 --> 17:58.234 They are very deliberate about determining 17:58.234 --> 18:01.845 and managing the talent in that functional specialty. 18:01.845 --> 18:04.383 One of the gaps that we have is sometimes 18:04.383 --> 18:07.638 that development, that talent management process, 18:07.638 --> 18:10.063 is not informed by the squadron commander, 18:10.063 --> 18:13.793 the individual who that enlisted member may work for, 18:13.793 --> 18:16.900 and on the back end, once the vector is determined 18:16.900 --> 18:19.883 that hey, you're going to go and be a command chief 18:19.883 --> 18:22.179 or a functional manager or a commandant 18:22.179 --> 18:25.005 or whatever it is in your particular specialty, 18:25.005 --> 18:27.220 sometimes that information doesn't get back 18:27.220 --> 18:29.986 to the squadron commander, the airman 18:29.986 --> 18:32.088 who actually signs that person's report, 18:32.088 --> 18:35.521 and really has the most influence and control 18:35.521 --> 18:37.806 over what he or she should do next. 18:37.806 --> 18:41.825 I think that one of the areas that we can improve upon this 18:41.825 --> 18:45.701 is bringing the squadron commander into that process, 18:45.701 --> 18:48.405 so that the squadron commander communicates more 18:48.405 --> 18:52.405 with the EDTs and we get that vector just right. 18:52.442 --> 18:54.787 - Great, we're told help is on the way 18:54.787 --> 18:56.306 as the Air Force plans to grow back 18:56.306 --> 18:57.962 to a higher end strength. 18:57.962 --> 19:00.445 What can you do to hang onto key specialists 19:00.445 --> 19:02.626 who can easily go work for a contractor 19:02.626 --> 19:04.485 until their help arrives? 19:04.485 --> 19:07.399 - Right, so I'm a little torn on this. 19:07.399 --> 19:09.186 We have programs in place. 19:09.186 --> 19:12.936 We have selective re-enlistment bonus program 19:14.523 --> 19:18.212 that we utilize, we have other retention processes 19:18.212 --> 19:21.045 that we use to maintain the health 19:22.283 --> 19:24.700 in many of our career fields, 19:25.989 --> 19:28.384 but some of this comes down to, on the backdrop 19:28.384 --> 19:32.551 of all of that, the backdrop of hey, we want to work hard 19:32.892 --> 19:37.059 to retain you, is this idea that hey, you're here to serve. 19:37.981 --> 19:40.634 There has to be a combination of the desire 19:40.634 --> 19:42.798 and the commitment that you make 19:42.798 --> 19:44.414 to our United States Air Force 19:44.414 --> 19:46.178 and the things we ask you to do, 19:46.178 --> 19:48.738 and a commitment from us to make sure that 19:48.738 --> 19:51.039 we do everything in our power to make sure 19:51.039 --> 19:53.076 you have the right environment 19:53.076 --> 19:56.020 where you can thrive and be successful. 19:56.020 --> 19:58.986 So we'll use a combination of the selective 19:58.986 --> 20:03.153 re-enlistment bonus and other retention tools that we have, 20:04.000 --> 20:06.676 but again, I say all of that against a backdrop of 20:06.676 --> 20:09.343 hey, this is a service business. 20:10.133 --> 20:13.849 We really appreciate what all of our airmen do. 20:13.849 --> 20:18.016 On the other hand, there's a part of this that says 20:19.739 --> 20:21.828 individual choice, and I certainly understand 20:21.828 --> 20:24.024 that sometimes you may think that 20:24.024 --> 20:27.555 hey, there's a better opportunity on the other side for me. 20:27.555 --> 20:30.946 I welcome each and every airman to take a look closely 20:30.946 --> 20:33.603 at that, evaluate their situation and make the best decision 20:33.603 --> 20:35.770 for them and their family. 20:37.158 --> 20:38.083 - Thank you. 20:38.083 --> 20:40.871 Regarding opportunityism, RPA operating jobs 20:40.871 --> 20:42.919 have opened up to enlisted in the last year, 20:42.919 --> 20:44.370 but only for the Global Hawk. 20:44.370 --> 20:47.487 Are there MQ-9s and maybe even cockpits in the future? 20:47.487 --> 20:48.320 - Oh wow. 20:50.314 --> 20:52.895 This is nothing I will say but a great news story, 20:52.895 --> 20:56.092 that we have enlisted airmen, and I think we have four 20:56.092 --> 20:57.804 that will be graduating in the fall, 20:57.804 --> 21:01.304 then we have a lot more that are scheduled 21:01.689 --> 21:05.402 to go through the pipeline for RQ-4 training. 21:05.402 --> 21:09.569 I don't know that we have, in the grand plan of our airmen, 21:10.304 --> 21:13.554 to fly other remotely piloted aircraft, 21:15.594 --> 21:17.469 and I'm certainly not sure if we have it 21:17.469 --> 21:21.508 in the grand plan for them to fly manned aircraft. 21:21.508 --> 21:25.591 However, I think it may be the natural evolution. 21:26.341 --> 21:29.725 We have some very talented young men and women 21:29.725 --> 21:33.507 in our service, and I don't think it will necessarily 21:33.507 --> 21:36.198 happen in the near term, but down the road, 21:36.198 --> 21:40.365 I could see where we push this into other air frames, 21:41.544 --> 21:44.261 and potentially even, you would see some day, 21:44.261 --> 21:46.964 enlisted airmen flying manned aircraft. 21:46.964 --> 21:50.642 - Great. Chief, there's been some interesting feedback 21:50.642 --> 21:54.442 on a recent climate survey regarding potentially 21:54.442 --> 21:56.028 some morale issues with the enlisted force. 21:56.028 --> 21:58.111 What's your take on that? 22:00.763 --> 22:03.768 - The way I look at morale is an individual thing. 22:03.768 --> 22:07.724 It's hard sometimes to say if the morale of the force 22:07.724 --> 22:10.391 is high or low or what have you. 22:10.777 --> 22:13.060 Now certainly, there are reasons, 22:13.060 --> 22:17.158 our ops tempo and lack of manning and lack of resources 22:17.158 --> 22:19.737 and some other challenges that we have 22:19.737 --> 22:23.404 that may create pockets of morale challenges 22:24.244 --> 22:27.742 across our service, but I don't necessarily like 22:27.742 --> 22:31.909 to tackle it as a, hey the morale of the force is all low. 22:34.268 --> 22:36.900 I agree that again, in certain areas, 22:36.900 --> 22:38.619 we may have morale challenges. 22:38.619 --> 22:41.891 What I would think is that this is where leadership 22:41.891 --> 22:45.030 comes into play, and that we can get down 22:45.030 --> 22:46.705 and we can understand the challenges. 22:46.705 --> 22:49.474 We can understand the issues of those individual airmen, 22:49.474 --> 22:52.283 those individual flights or sections, 22:52.283 --> 22:54.200 and then address those. 22:54.730 --> 22:58.897 We can't fix this with more time off and more picnics. 22:59.471 --> 23:01.520 In some cases, you can fix it with a bonus, right, 23:01.520 --> 23:05.687 a bonus might make you happy at least for a little while. 23:06.142 --> 23:07.593 This is where we have to grind. 23:07.593 --> 23:10.286 This is where us as leaders have to put to use 23:10.286 --> 23:12.880 all the skills that we learned in our development 23:12.880 --> 23:15.542 and training and PME where we have to motivate, 23:15.542 --> 23:18.073 encourage, inspire, we have to solve problems 23:18.073 --> 23:19.450 at the highest level. 23:19.450 --> 23:22.803 We are responsible for creating an environment 23:22.803 --> 23:25.386 where our airmen can thrive ... 23:29.407 --> 23:31.324 I guess I will say that 23:31.398 --> 23:35.315 I trust our commanders and commanders in chiefs 23:36.753 --> 23:40.352 in making the right determination if morale is low. 23:40.352 --> 23:41.774 That's the easy part. 23:41.774 --> 23:45.413 The hard part is, what are you going to do about it. 23:45.413 --> 23:46.988 - All right, we got time for one more question Chief, 23:46.988 --> 23:47.950 and it's a tough one. 23:47.950 --> 23:50.736 So you're a young airman, what one piece of advice 23:50.736 --> 23:53.741 would you give them so they can at one point 23:53.741 --> 23:57.175 envision themselves up on the stage in your shoes? 23:57.175 --> 23:59.395 - Wow, the one piece of advice I could give you 23:59.395 --> 24:01.743 as a young airman, if you want to be on this stage, 24:01.743 --> 24:05.105 or in his shoes or in her shoes or whatever it is 24:05.105 --> 24:09.022 that you desire, that you want to do is decide. 24:10.672 --> 24:13.398 Decide early what it is that you want out of life. 24:13.398 --> 24:15.370 I have my new favorite book 24:15.370 --> 24:18.120 is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. 24:18.549 --> 24:21.063 He talks about once you decide what you want your fate 24:21.063 --> 24:25.230 to be, the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it. 24:25.262 --> 24:29.293 I think that's the most important piece of advice. 24:29.293 --> 24:31.604 You can read many books and there's other things 24:31.604 --> 24:35.477 that I think will help you stay focused, be disciplined, 24:35.477 --> 24:37.308 make sure you're of the right character, 24:37.308 --> 24:40.507 be a team player, many things, but if you ask me, 24:40.507 --> 24:42.314 the most important thing is decide what it is 24:42.314 --> 24:45.320 that you want, and then you can get busy. 24:45.320 --> 24:48.445 Your mentors and your friends and your support systems 24:48.445 --> 24:50.612 can help you get after it. 24:50.949 --> 24:54.621 Like the author of The Alchemist says, the universe 24:54.621 --> 24:56.973 will conspire to help you become the Chief of Staff, 24:56.973 --> 24:58.574 the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, 24:58.574 --> 25:01.035 the President, an astronaut, whatever it is 25:01.035 --> 25:01.870 that you want to be. 25:01.870 --> 25:02.869 - [Denise] That's a great message. 25:02.869 --> 25:05.452 Thank you so much Chief Wright.