We need all Team Travis members to complete mission

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Michael Williams
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing command chief
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  I'm stuffed! The turkey, ham, stuffing and giblet gravy was incredible.

I hope each of you had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.

My family and I had an awesome time sharing it with friends, co-workers and fellow Airmen.

We thought of you throughout the day and gave thanks for being apart of such a tremendous team of professionals ... a Pro Bowl Team.

You are a special group and America relies heavily upon us each and every day to get it right.

We can't fumble, throw an interception or get caught off-sides.

Our mission is to score.

It takes every player, offense, defense and special teams, every down to score.

Our KC-10s refuel all types of aircraft enabling them to support the war fighters as well.

The C-5s and C-17s provide airlift all over the world to reduce the number of dangerous convoys on the road.

However, those platforms can not move without the pilots to get them airborne.

Allow me to let you in on a little secret: aircrews believe they own the aircraft ... not.

The crew chief believes they loan the aircraft to the aircrew for the duration of the flight.

I've heard my entire career that the aircraft truly belongs to the maintainers, because they spend the majority of the time with the aircraft.

However, I know they are both wrong because the aircraft can't get airborne without fuel, air traffic controllers or base operations where the flight plan is filed.

Come to think of it, anyone could wander on the flight line to procure an aircraft if we did not have our security forces protecting them.

Who makes sure we are mentally and physically capable of performing the mission?

Sounds like a physician to me.

We all have a stake in the mission. I've taken the liberty of mentioning functions in the Operations, Maintenance, Mission Support and Medical Groups.

I almost forgot about the Director of Staff and our civilians. They are two of the busiest groups in our wing.

Maybe not, but who knows.

I do know they are extremely important to our team to include our families. We could not do what we do without a strong support system.

Our families are an integral part of this team as well. We all play a very important role in accomplishing the mission here at Travis.

It takes everyone from the front gate to the back gate and everyone in between to accomplish the mission.

Therefore, I can honestly say and truly believe the aircraft assigned here belong to all of us.
Are you aware of your position and role on our team?

I hope so, because it's vitally important we have the entire team on the field at the right time going in the same direction each and every snap: Doing the right thing when no one is looking, giving without concern for ourselves and being the best we can be in every endeavor.

We need everyone to accomplish the mission here at Travis so go long and let's score a touchdown over the holidays by making responsible choices!