Commander's Memorial Day message Published May 21, 2015 By Brig. Gen. Glen D. VanHerck. 509th Bomb Wing commander WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- This year's Memorial Day Weekend marks many great things for our nation, and it is more than just the gateway to summer. The extended holiday gives all of us the opportunity to rest and reflect, and I encourage you to think about a few things during this time. First and foremost, remember our nation's heroes. Since our inception, more than 1.3 million Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the United States. I encourage you to honor these heroes by attending a Memorial Day ceremony or event recognizing the courageous acts of these brave men and women. As we move into summer, it amazes me how much our team has already accomplished so far this year. Your tremendous efforts have enabled us to continually provide strategic deterrence, global power, and combat support to the President and combatant commanders around the globe. In the last two weeks alone, the 509th Bomb Wing and 131st Bomb Wing demonstrated unrivaled long-range global strike during Exercises Neptune Falcon, Constant Vigilance and Combat Hammer, while our partners in the 442nd Fighter Wing, 20th Reconnaissance Squadron, and 1-135th Attack/Reconnaissance Battalion continued their traditions of excellence in their respective missions. I could not be more proud of the effort made by all members of Team Whiteman. The next several weeks will provide our team additional opportunities to demonstrate our tremendous capabilities, as we gear up for Wings Over Whiteman in June and exercises throughout the summer and fall. As I've mentioned many times before, our ability to accomplish the mission could not be possible without our number one asset: the Airmen, Soldiers, civilians, and family members of Team Whiteman. In January 2015, I held a series of commander's calls soliciting your feedback in ways that we could better serve our team. I am proud to report that we listened to your feedback, and your leadership has been working hard to implement many of your recommendations. To date, we've implemented 18 new initiatives to address the feedback you provided earlier this year. These initiatives focus on areas such as increasing Airmen involvement in the development of our Comprehensive Airman Fitness programs, establishing training programs for our front line supervisors, leveraging our partnerships with community organizations to address our shared public health challenges, and much more. For a full list of the initiatives we've implemented and additional details on how to get involved, I encourage you to contact your unit's Resiliency Training Assistant or one of the installation Master Resiliency Trainers. Lastly, I need all of us to focus on safety and effective risk management. I know that many of you will be vacationing and visiting loved ones across the country over the next few months. You've earned this time of relaxation, so enjoy it. However, always be conscious of safety, whether you're planning a day out on the water, an evening around the campfire, or preparing for a lengthy road trip. Take the time to relax and recharge when you can, because our mission continues and we need each and every one of you contributing your expertise and leadership to our team. In closing, remember our nation's heroes this weekend, reflect on our outstanding accomplishments, and take advantage of the opportunity to take care of yourselves. Thanks again for your service and the tremendous sacrifices each of you make to keep our country free.