Perspectives from the ACC Command Chief

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Steve Stanley
  • Headquarters Air Combat Command Public Affairs
Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. --  Chief Master Sgt. Steve K. McDonald, Command Chief Master Sergeant, Air Combat Command, spoke to the Langley chapter of the Air Force Association at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., Jan. 22, 2015.

The venue gave McDonald, the command's highest enlisted member, a chance to share with local leaders and aviation supporters what he has seen in his time at ACC. He has been the command chief since August, and has traveled to many ACC bases in a short time, including a trip to see deployed personnel.

"General Carlisle and I had the fortune of spending Thanksgiving in the Middle East with our Airmen. There are so many words to describe that, but the best is 'inspiring'," said McDonald. "They are so excited about what they're doing there and how they contribute to the mission. Morale - you would think it would be tough - but I think it's the best in the Air Force over in the Middle East on a day-to-day basis."

He did note that even though Airmen's general attitude was positive, the after effects of being in an expeditionary environment over the last fourteen years have become obvious.

"One of the things we noticed is that even as inspired as they were; the word fatigued kept coming up," McDonald explained. "They're running hard, they have been running hard ... but they do really like being out there in that environment."

McDonald said another factor that may be contributing to fatigue is force management and the original plan to cut the active duty force by up to 25,000 Airmen.

"It caused a lot of angst in our civilian, officer, and enlisted force," the command chief said. "The good news is through the NDAA, the SECAF and the Chief of Staff got the authorities to maintain a 315,000 member Air Force, which is about where we're at now."

This means there will not be any involuntary force management this year, which is welcome news to deliver as it "really helps put a lot of Airmen at ease."

"It's good for me to be able to go out and say that. It made sense to a degree with what we had to do with force management, but nobody liked it. The General and I apologize to our Airmen every chance we get...but we also realize that we have a responsibility to the United States of America to produce the best Air Force that we can with the money that we're given."

However, force management is just one part of the uncertainty equation. The chief explained that Airmen remain concerned about the future and how the fiscal challenges impact the service moving forward.

"This last year was hard. It's good not to have any force management this year, but until sequestration goes away with the Budget Control Act, we don't know what's coming in the future," said McDonald.

Despite the challenges of high operations tempo and budgetary challenges, the 29-year veteran said he remains reassured about the state of the Air Force today and in the future. A tribute, he said, to the commitment of the Airmen who serve today--something he sees every day in Air Combat Command.

"ACC is an amazing command," McDonald said.