AFMC CC visits Whiteman

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cody H. Ramirez
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo., --  Gen. Donald J. Hoffman, Air Force Materiel Command commander, talked teamwork, B-2 sustainment and the future of the Air Force during a April 29, 2010, site visit to the 19th Munitions Squadron here.

"A lot of people don't realize that we have AFMC patch wearers at Whiteman, within the munitions squadron," General Hoffman said.

During his visit, the general and his wife Jacki met Team Whiteman personnel and, for the first time since its activation in October 2009, observed the squadron and its Airmen.

The general was pleased with what he found throughout his tour of the squadron.

"I found great teamwork here," he said. "Obviously, a small squadron working in collaboration with a wing requires a lot of teamwork. There are seams in that relationship, and my main concern was, 'Are we working across those seams?' And, indeed, we are."

AFMC's mission is to deliver technology, acquisition, test and sustainment for expeditionary capabilities to the warfighter, and keeping the B-2 Spirit ready for flight is one of the most important goals at Whiteman AFB.

"The B-2 hasn't been around long, but it is aging, and there are challenges in that aging," the general said. "We've learned a lot as we operated the B-2 over the years."

While AFMC has made changes already, the command is still improving the aircraft's sustainment. 

"There are still many challenges in obtaining parts for the aircraft. Again, we built a fixed number of them, and we're not building those parts anymore, so each one has to be hand-crafted when we need it," General Hoffman said. "We try and come up with procedures to streamline that process to keep more of these aircraft operationally available."

He said Airmen remain the anchor behind every procedure ensuring global success.

"It's not the aircraft or weapons we buy that will keep us the best air force in the world, but the Airmen," he said.

As for the future of the Air Force, the general said that despite changing times there's one thing that will remain true.

"The Air Force will always be changing, so if anyone thinks status-quo is where we'll be in 10 years, they are mistaken," General Hoffman said. "There's one thing that will be exactly the same in 10 years -- we are, without a doubt, the world's greatest air force, and we will remain so."