Commander’s call focuses on value of Airmen, ‘You all are key’ to Beale’s past, present and future

  • Published
  • By Capt. Clay Lancaster
  • 9th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs

The 9th Reconnaissance Wing commander brought Beale Airmen together here today during a commander’s call to discuss how far we’ve come as a service and where we’re going as an organization.

 

Col. Larry Broadwell addressed the more than 350 Airmen in attendance to highlight the impressive strides they have made since he took command last year. He also opened up the floor to hear directly from Airmen about the challenges they face and to answer questions on the future of Beale.

 

“Our Airmen are our most vital resource and they are key to the successes we’ve experienced in the past and the successes we can expect in the future,” Broadwell said. “I wanted to bring them together today to hear directly from me as their wing commander on just how much I value them and their families.”

 

The event focused on the strides made in the past, a Beale year-in-review and to discuss the future plans of the installation and the ISR mission.

 

“I thought today was very informative and there was a lot of good videos that had me wanting to watch and listen to the commander,” said Airman 1st Class Catherine Gipson, Knowledge Operator, 9th Communications Sq. “I liked that he asked people their opinions on things; he hit the targets and issues that everyone had in the room.”

 

The commander used a series of videos and imagery that helped keep the crowd engaged and focused on the issues. One video in particular focused on trust being the essence of leadership.

 

“For him to bring up trust and talk about how we’re all under this umbrella as Airmen showed me it’s not only important for us to work together but that we have to in order to get this mission done; you have to address stuff like trust because it’s a big deal,” said Master Sgt. Jeremey McLeod, 9th Civil Engineer Sq. “I’m glad this commander’s call happened; he touched on things which all of us have on our minds at one point in time, if not right now, that all seemed relevant.”

 

“To understand just how valuable we are to the mission I feel it’s critical that our Airmen understand the mission we accomplish each and every day here at Beale and at our GSU’s [geographically separate unit],” he added. “Our expeditionary Airmen help fulfill high-altitude ISR requirements daily and they do it with professionalism and precision; these opportunities give our team the chance to take a short operational pause and understand where they fit in our awesome mission.”