ACC Command Chief sees changes in Airmen but not service ethic

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher
  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) --  Chief Master Sgt. Steve Sullens has seen a lot of changes in his more than 30 years in the Air Force, but one thing that hasn't changed is the Air Force service ethic that he said Airmen must still look to in times of uncertainty.

"Change is nothing new," he said. "The difference now is that in a lot of the things we deal with, lives are at stake."

One of the big changes Chief Sullens said he sees is in deployments. With more and more Airmen deploying in support of the War on Terror, he said Airmen need to make sure they are prepared to go when called.

"Folks are deployed on foreign soil, and bullets are flying," he said. "Really being prepared and being ready is what we need to focus on. That means when you're assigned to go do something, be prepared for it, report on time and do your duty."

Chief Sullens said he knows personnel cuts weigh heavily on Airmen's minds, but modern Airmen are more than capable of adapting to these changes.

"It all comes down to uncertainty," he said. "When I joined in '76, I knew I was going to be a cop. I had a life-long career track to be a cop, or I could retrain if I wanted to. The reality now is that folks, our patriots, join up to do a particular task and at four, six, sometimes eight, 10 or 12 years we're telling them to do something else. Our people are smart, and I know they'll adapt and overcome."

One concern Chief Sullens said he has is making sure Airmen know their place in the mission.

"'How does this affect me?'" he said. "We owe a plan to answer that concern as quickly as possible, and that's where we tend to fail. We lose the ability to take what our senior leadership asks us to do and turn it into something the line Airman can understand, a timely answer they can appreciate and, ultimately, dependability to where what we tell them will stand the test of time."

Airmen need to keep the big picture in mind during the course of their duties, Chief Sullens said.

"We make a mistake anywhere across the Air Force, and it has ripple effects in places and at times people just don't understand," he said. "It boils down to the service-ethics check. Report where and when called for the duty at hand, prepare yourself as best you can and make the most of it."