Send me

  • Published
  • By Brig. Gen. (sel) Mark Dillon
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Several years ago while assigned to the Pentagon I saw a painting that I have never forgotten. The painting hangs in a staircase near the office of the Secretary of Defense. 

On the large canvas is an Airman in uniform kneeling with his family at the altar of a church. The caption below the painting is a quote from the Bible -- Isaiah, Chapter 8 verse 6 in which God asks, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" to which Isaiah answers: "Here I am. Send me!" No other painting or photograph that I have seen captures what this painting does. It illustrates what military men and women and their families do. It is what you -- Team Travis Airmen and your families -- do every day. You are answering the call to defend our great nation by saying 'send me.' 

Your work probably won't make the latest headline news. However, history will record that you are quietly and slowly making the world a safer place to live. Your actions far from home are keeping terror from our shores. Because of the sacrifices you and your families make, more than 300 million American's remain free. For the first time in history you are giving 50 million Iraqi's and Afghani's a chance at freedom. And that is just the beginning. Your humanitarian relief and training exercises bring hope and relief to millions more. 

For the past year, this Airman has been awed by your service to this great nation. I have had the privilege to command and the honor to serve alongside 7,000 incredible maintainers, operators, missions support and medical professionals ... officers, enlisted, civilians and their families of the 60th Air Mobility Wing. You, along with our 349th Air Mobility Wing, 615th Contingency Response Wing, 15th Expeditionary Response Wing and more than 30 other partners, make Travis "America's First Choice" and our Air Force the most powerful the world has ever seen. 

Despite all our power and nearly eight years after the deadly terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, our nation is still at war. And the enemy we face is intelligent, patient and dead set on eliminating our way of life. So, "Whom shall we send? Who will go for us?" Like the Airman and his family in the painting at the Pentagon, each and every one of you has answered the call loud and clear ..."send me!" 

The Dillon family must now focus our attentions on new horizons. We do this without reservation and with great confidence, as I know the Vechery Family will continue the Team Travis legacy. As we step away, we welcome the Vecherys to Travis and the golden hills of Northern California. 

Team Travis, thank you for serving our great nation. The Dillon family wishes you and yours God Speed.