Commander praises Airmen during CC Call

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Alessandra N. Hurley
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  Col. Jeffrey Taliaferro, 28th Bomb Wing commander, praised Airmen for all of their hard work and the vital role each person played in 2010 during a wing commander's call at the PRIDE Hangar, Jan. 20.

"Every Airman in this wing puts bombs on target," Colonel Taliaferro said. "All the hard work Airmen across the wing have put in over the last year resulted in a number of successes in 2010."

During his address, he covered a wide range of topics including aviation operations and maintenance schedules, successes the base has made in suicide prevention and reduced numbers of driving under the influence charges to upcoming challenges and activities. The 28th BW commander also talked about basic allowance for housing and the status of the repealing of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Colonel Taliaferro keyed in on how the aviation package of July 2010 maintained operations for those deployed. The 28th BW successfully completed over 1,100 combat missions, flew more than 14,000 combat hours and supported 648 troops in contact situations, about twice a day.

"In many cases, our Airmen turned defeat into victory," Colonel Taliaferro said. "Due to the tremendous performance of our Airmen, the commander of Air Force Central Command called the B-1 the best close air support platform on the battlefield."

The colonel went on to describe the work of the 350 deployed Airmen as, "incredible."

"Two hundred to 250 Ellsworth Airmen from our most highly stressed career fields provided expeditionary combat support in locations across the globe every day," he said. "In 2010, more than 1,200 of our Airmen deployed to combat locations overseas, comprising about 35 percent of the active duty Airmen in the entire wing. I'm confident no wing in the Air Force has contributed more to the successes overseas than the 28th BW."

For the first time in at least five years, the 28th BW was able to achieve the sortie goals outlined in its flying contract. The 28th BW commander told his Airmen he was impressed with their ability to meet such high demands and also addressed the importance of being good wingmen to each other when demands become stressful.

"I want to thank each of you for being great wingmen," Colonel Taliaferro said. "Because of your leadership in suicide awareness, there were no active duty suicides at Ellsworth in 2010."

The colonel cited Airmen's willingness to ask, care and escort their wingmen as the reason 42 Airmen received intensive help for suicidal ideations.

"You responded to the text at 1 a.m. on a Saturday morning, you heard the comment an Airman spoke under their breath as they were walking out the door or read the comment on Facebook and chose not to ignore it," he said. "Because you contacted leadership and helped your wingmen get connected, they were able to get started on the road to recovery. Thank you for your awareness. Our Airmen are too important to lose. They are a national resource and we can't afford to lose any Airmen to such a senseless act."

Colonel Taliaferro encouraged Airmen to continue to be attentive and to look out for each other. He cited resources for Airmen such as the mental health clinic and calling 385-HELP to speak with a counselor, and emphasized "thanks to those that found the strength to come forward to get help."

Among improvements in suicide prevention, the commander also spoke to Airmen about the reduced number of charges for driving under the influence.

"We have seen tremendous improvements in DUI charges with only 30 cases in 2010," he said. "This is our lowest number in at least the last 10 years. Ellsworth averages 36 per year. Thanks to your leadership, responsible planning, and doing the right thing, we have reached a historic low rate for DUIs."

Colonel Taliaferro emphasized that preventing DUIs is, "everyone's problem," and that in order to fix it, all Airmen must change the culture by choosing not to laugh at certain stories and not to ignore the issue. He said it is everyone's responsibility to support and look out for each other by volunteering for 385-RIDE and not leaving a wingman behind.

The commander then briefly touched on the 5 percent reduction in Basic Allowance for Housing.

"One thing to be aware of is that the prices in the housing market all across the nation have gone down by approximately 30 percent," he said. "The reduction is based on an accurate analysis of our local market."

Colonel Taliaferro informed Airmen of an upcoming town hall meeting, Feb. 1, where both he and the Hunt Corporation, the owner of Centennial Housing, would be present to delve deeper into housing issues.

The last topic Colonel Taliaferro addressed to Airmen was the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

"The repeal doesn't take effect until decision makers certify that the Department of Defense is ready," he said. "The process will likely take a few months as Air Force Instructions and policies are written."

Colonel Taliaferro further emphasized that "today, tomorrow and throughout the whole process of the repeal, our focus needs to always be that every human being deserves to be treated with dignity and respect."

The 28th BW commander then opened the floor for questions from the audience and assuring them of his willingness to be available to interact with them, at any time, through the Commander's Action Line and his Facebook page.

Colonel Taliaferro responded to questions about the upcoming air show, repairs to the runway, Centennial Housing rent rates, AAFES projects and the new MQ-9 squadron scheduled to join Ellsworth.

The colonel said the air show would take place June 4 and would include various demonstration teams, including a jump team.

The colonel told the Airmen the flightline is scheduled to close for approximately 36 days in August and September while the runway is repaired.

He assured Airmen there is only one set of proposed Centennial rent rates that would become effective sometime after July and that Hunt has not made any unpredictable changes in rent charges.

In response to questions about AAFES projects, Colonel Taliaferro informed the audience of a new shoppette that was in the works as well as a proposed new AAFES food building between the 28th Medical Group building and the Base Exchange. For the Airmen who asked about a Taco Bell in the food court or a dry cleaners at the BX, Colonel Taliaferro explained that AAFES is limited by the willingness of businesses to come to Ellsworth. He said AAFES has requested a Taco Bell and a dry cleaner but was turned down by both businesses because they didn't think it would be profitable.

The MQ-9 Mission is scheduled to arrive in Ellsworth January 2012. The colonel said the biggest impact on Ellsworth would be a shift in mentality.

"We will be responsible for real combat missions every day where lives are at risk," he said. "If there is a breakdown in communication or the power supply, we need it fixed immediately. There are going to be lives hanging in the balance and we cannot afford to wait a day for back up or support. We are going to be aiding in no kidding combat, so the attitude piece is going to be the most important change for our Airmen to think about."