AFRC commander visits 931st ARG

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jason Schaap
  • 931st ARG Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  The man in charge of the Air Force Reserve visited the 931st Air Refueling Group Thursday.

With his itinerary shortened by unexpected transportation changes, Lt. Gen. John Bradley, Commander, Air Force Reserve Command and Chief, Air Force Reserve, used his few hours at McConnell AFB to visit with 931st members and answer their questions during a town hall meeting.

Much of the meeting was spent discussing manpower issues and the 931st's future. "We're adding a lot of jobs here," General Bradley said during his opening remarks about solving a maintenance issue that resulted from the Group's associate unit status.

Initially, he said, the associate program was set up so that active-duty Airmen provided the majority of maintenance support for flying missions. But over time, continuity of the agreement was lost and active-duty maintainers began questioning the appearance of Reserve maintainers not bearing a fair share of the workload.

"I got tired of hearing the complaints," General Bradley said.

The 931st has already benefited from a manpower increase approved to solve the issue AFRC-wide and more improvements are expected. "We're working on it," General Bradley insisted. "We'll get it fixed."

Given the green light to grow, the general was asked if he thought the 931st could ever become a wing. The question has been a popular one for generals visiting the 931st.

"It could very possibly happen," he responded.

The number of tankers owned by the 22nd Air Refueling Wing, the 931st's active-duty host unit, is expected to keep growing. If the 22nd needed a wing-size 931st to support the mission at McConnell AFB, General Bradley said he "would be all for it."

What kind of tankers will be added to the McConnell AFB inventory was a topic the general avoided due to the current controversy surrounding the Air Force's new tanker acquisition plan. No matter what happens with the plan, he said, getting rid of KC-135s is not going to be quick.

"It's going to take a long time to replace them," General Bradley said before predicting some KC-135s will be 80 years old before they are retired.

Chief Master Sgt. Donald Askren Jr. stood up during the meeting, but told the general he did not have a question. Instead, the 931st's chief boom used the opportunity to compliment the fine Airmen of the 931st.

Based on the general's experience, he agreed with the chief. The general once commanded a wing near Kansas City, Mo., that included a civil engineer squadron at McConnell AFB. Senior Master Sgt. Tamera Askren, Chief Askren's wife, was part of that squadron.

"This Midwest work ethic is a force multiplier," General Bradley said. "There's not a lot of looking over the shoulder here."

After the town hall meeting, Col. William Cahoon, 931st commander, took General Bradley to McConnell's KC-135 flight simulators. Colonel Cahoon told the general that the simulators have been crucial to keeping pilot training current.

The general, who later said he never flew in a KC-135 simulator before, strapped in for a simulated flight with the 931st's Maj. Mike Gibbons as his co-pilot. A fighter pilot his entire career, the experience was quite different than what he was used to.

"That's a lot of work," he said to Colonel Cahoon after he landed the virtual jet. "I don't know how you fly those big planes."

"You slowly get used to it," the colonel told him.  Like General Bradley, Colonel Cahoon was once an A-10 Thunderbolt pilot.

General Bradley first flew combat missions in the Vietnam War. His long Air Force career is scheduled to end when he retires in June.

"In my 41 years in the Air Force, I have never seen a better attitude toward AFRC than I see today," General Bradley said to 931st members at the town hall meeting Thursday. "You and your performance have given us credibility and respect."