CMSAF visits Minot AFB for first time

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Wesley Wright
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (ACCNS) --  The Air Force's top enlisted leader visited Minot AFB for the first time Oct. 8 to 10.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Rodney J. McKinley visited Minot to see the base's challenging and diverse missions firsthand. From the weapons storage area to the launch facility trainer, and the base fitness center to an enlisted all-call, he listened to Airmen and shared words of encouragement along the way.

"I'm very impressed," Chief McKinley said. "I've been around the Air Force for a long time, but have never made it here before. So I'm pleased to be here visiting with our great Airmen and seeing more of Minot's mission."

Chief McKinley said one of the main goals of his visit was to let Minot's Airmen know how proud he is of them.

"There have been some challenging times here at Minot," he said. "I wanted to come here and tell Minot Airmen I am proud of them, and our senior Air Force leaders are proud of them. We have the utmost faith and confidence in them and we stand behind them."

We know they're going to do a great job," the chief added. "Minot has a history of excellence. I am here to thank the Minot Airmen for the incredible job they are doing and tell them to keep their heads up because they're OK - our Air Force is OK."

While here, Chief McKinley talked about some top priorities for the enlisted force.

"I think the most important thing for all Airmen is to make sure they know their jobs. If we're ever tapped on the shoulder to do something, it's important for us to know our jobs. We must remain organized, trained and equipped to do whatever our nation or our Air Force asks us to do."

Quality of life was a key topic while Chief McKinley was here, and he had good news for Minot's Airmen.

"We've done some great things here recently," he said. "We recently put $140 million into dorms across the Air Force. As a matter of fact, the top two dorm initiatives we had are here at Minot."

"We have put an additional $23.4 million into quality of life across the Air Force for child care, fitness centers, readiness centers, libraries, and improved living condition for our Airmen and their families," the chief added. "We're putting a lot more money into re-enlistment bonuses and doing a lot more in the line of education. I see a bright future ahead in quality of life and toward improving the living conditions of Airmen."

In addition, the chief master sergeant of the Air Force also addressed the future of the Air Force's nuclear enterprise and said his confidence in the nuclear enterprise was enhanced by Minot's Airmen and leadership.

"We have placed new focus on the nuclear enterprise and there have been a lot of changes made," he said. "Over the years, we kind of lost focus on our nuclear enterprise, but we've got that focus back. So the nation and the world -- everyone can rest assured the United States Air Force has full focus on the nuclear enterprise."

Chief McKinley wrapped up his "fantastic visit" to the base with some final words of encouragement:

"I want Minot's Airmen to understand they are doing something really important up here, not only for the Air Force, but for the nation. These are warriors up here, and their efforts are absolutely critical to our Air Force's success."

Chief McKinley was appointed to his current position June 30, 2006. He is the 15th chief master sergeant appointed to the highest noncommissioned officer position in the Air Force.

To view a video from the visit, logon to www.minot.af.mil and click on "October 13, 2008" under MAFB videos.