Alston visits Travis

  • Published
  • By Ken Wright
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  During his 34 years of military service, Command Sgt. Maj. Patrick Z. Alston has never forgotten the vital role of NCOs in the U.S. military.

During a July 24 visit to Travis Air Force Base, California, the United States Strategic Command senior enlisted leader not only wanted to assess the needs of enlisted people who support the USSTRATCOM mission, but reaffirm the principal responsibility of all NCOs; to mentor and train tomorrow's leaders today.

"At some point in the past decade, we got away from intrusive leadership. It is time to recognize and put aside our biases toward younger generations, learn what motivates them and get into their circle of thinking," said Alston during a speech to nearly 300 members of the 821st Contingency Response Squadron.

Alston added that NCOs should not be afraid to combine lessons from their basic professional military education with modern communication mechanisms, such as texting or Facebook. That way, he said, supervisors can better establish connections that lead to greater trust, which they will need during discussions with their people about performance and their future in the armed forces.

"Being able to connect with our troops is important for the overall health and future of the force," he said. "We owe it to our subordinates to look them in eyes and tell whether or not they have a future in the military. If not, we need to help them transition to being productive civilian citizens. We must mentor even those who are leaving the service."

With continued force reductions occurring simultaneously with ever-growing enemy threats, the quality of the enlisted force and the work it does is more important than ever. Alston is confident his corps is up to the task.

"America's sons and daughters, particularly those wearing stripes, are fantastic," he said. "These heroic men and women are working everywhere from the bowels of buildings to flying across the seas, providing information data points needed to advise the commander. They do a lot of the heavy lifting and I'm continuously amazed by them, but we must remain focused on the job at hand. We must understand that we do not have time to focus on what we lack, but what we have. So it is about prioritizing, mentoring, teaching, training and being by the side of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines as they execute their mission."

Alston made the most of his day at Travis, visiting the U.S. Navy's VQ-3 detachment, a recently modified C-5M Super Galaxy, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and ended the day with a line-of-fire demonstration at the 821st CRS.

After marshalling Humvees in and out of the C-5M and being given the unusual opportunity to raise the aircraft's huge visor, Alston walked away in awe of its capabilities.

"I was really impressed by the modifications of the C-5M," he said. "It's a tremendous aircraft that handles an enormous amount of airlift needs for the force each and every day."

Yet more than any machine, Alston left Travis admiring the men and women he met most of all.

"I was especially impressed with the overall esprit d corps at the installation and the overall motivation of the troops," he said. "They understand that their contributions support a broader mission and the freedom of our nation."