Team Travis welcomes new commander

  • Published
  • By Col. Steven Arquiette
  • 60th AMW commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Team Travis welcomes the Air Mobility Command commander, Gen. Duncan McNabb, and his wife, Linda, to meet our world-class quality people and tour our magnificent base! 

What a way to start off my first week of command; I’m very proud to showcase the unique capabilities of all the partners of Team Travis. 

The general and his wife will leave Travis with a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the tremendous work done here by our equally tremendous people 

It is commonly said that you form an opinion of a person or organization within the first 10 to 15 seconds. 

Let me tell you, Team Travis, from the second I stepped on the base my opinion of you has been nothing but extremely positive! 

The change-of-command ceremony was by far the best one I have ever seen in my career, and I’ve seen quite a few. 

Deb, Stevie and I were overwhelmed by the day’s events and are awestruck by the obvious preparation and practice that went into it. 

Thank you for everything — you have shown unprecedented warmth to my family since we’ve arrived, and I am looking forward to meeting and working with all of the members that make up Team Travis. 

This is such a unique base with a group dynamic I have not seen anywhere else. 

The teamwork that has been fostered amongst the 349th Air Mobility Wing, the 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force and its 615th Contingency Response Wing, the 60th Air Mobility Wing and all of its other partner units including our sister services is beyond comparison; it is truly impressive. To simply say that we are thrilled to be here is an understatement. 

As I get immersed into the Team Travis way of life, one thing is evident … our people are busy and we will continue to stay busy for quite a long time. 

This is an important time in history for the Travis Team and we will continue to be put to the test. 

My philosophy has always been to take care of people and their families. Please ensure you keep those family members of deployed personnel in your daily crosscheck. If you remember to do that, we will be able to meet the changes and challenges the future holds for us. 

You may be a bit anxious to find out my style of conducting business. Let me hit the “easy button” for you – I’m a firm believer in focusing on personal and professional discipline. How you present yourself on a day-to-day basis is vital to the Air Force. 

Remember, people form opinions in the first 10 to 15 seconds, and they have to be positive or you won’t be as effective as you need to be. This initial opinion shapes your ability to lead, the way people react to you and what the community thinks of Team Travis and the Air Force. You must represent the Air Force in a positive light, or we collectively lose. 

When you look in the mirror in the morning what do you see? Do you see the best Airman you can be? If you don’t see an elite Airman staring back at you, you need to find out why and make some positive changes in your life. 

We’ll be kicking off 101 Days of Summer May 23 with a very important Safety Day. Your safety is my top priority. You will hear this time and time again. Safety Day will reemphasize the different dangers that are all around us. 

You make so many important decisions about safety every day, and you never know which one of those decisions saves you from a painful injury or protects the life of another person. 

Supervisors, I need you to set the example and help make this an effective Safety Day so we come out of the 101 Days of Summer unscathed. 

Again, thank you all for the warm welcome. I am proud to be the commander of the 60th AMW and Deb, Stevie and I look forward to meeting you all soon!