3rd Air Force commander visits 'Lik'

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Patrice Clarke
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Lt. Gen. Robert Bishop, 3rd Air Force commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Westermeyer, acting 3rd AF command chief, visited Incirlik Feb. 12 through 14 to see different work centers and to hold an Airmen's call.

General Bishop made it one of his priorities to let the members of Team Incirlik know what 3rd Air Force does and how the 'Lik' fits into the mix.

"Historically, wings have worked for numbered Air Forces, and here in Europe those have been the 3rd and the 16th," said General Bishop. "During the Bosnian Crisis it was pretty clear that the numbered Air Forces weren't sized properly to run an operation and we started down the road of standing up a War Fighting Headquarters and taking down our Numbered Air Forces.

"However, our new chief said 'I like numbered Air Forces, they are rooted in AF history, we should go back to that.' What you should remember when it comes to the 3rd AF is operations. We are USAFE's operational component for EUCOM. If it has anything to do with air and space operations in our 92 country area of responsibility, then it probably falls under us," he said.

General Bishop also spoke on his priorities as the 3rd AF commander.

"I figure the Secretary [of the Air Force] gave us three pretty good priorities and I couldn't see why I should try to improve on them," he said. "Those priorities being to fight the Global War on Terrorism, whether here or abroad, take care of Airmen, which mostly falls under U.S. Air Forces in Europe, and to recapitalize our fleet, which is very much needed."

Though the recapitalizing of the fleet part might seem like it would be an Air Staff issue, General Bishop said it could be directly connected to Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century.

"We are asking you all who are where the rubber meets the road at the grass roots-level for your ideas," he said. "We want to make sure we are incorporating your ideas, hopefully things that are cutting down work weeks and in the end saving the Air Force money so we can go out and buy the weapon systems that make every fight an unfair fight."

The 3rd AF commander also elaborated on focused theater security cooperation.
"One of the main reasons why I think we are over here [in Turkey] is to develop relationships and interoperability so that our partnerships grow; because those relationships are important."

Before leaving, Chief Westermeyer also expanded on his three main priorities: alcohol-related incidents, education and savings.

"It's important that the first line supervisors, the technical sergeants, staff sergeants and some senior airman, stress safety to their Airmen," said Chief Westermeyer. "Look them in the eye and stress the importance of someone being there who can help out."

"Getting your Community College of the Air Force degree, furthering your education and saving for the future" were also important things on Chief Westemeyer's agenda.

General Bishop extended his appreciation for all the members of Team Incirlik for what they do for USAFE, European Command and 3rd AF.

"I've been following your commander around these past couple of days and he is always asking Team Incirlik what they have done for their country today," said General Bishop. "It amazes me all the things you can list. You should be proud of that. Thanks for all that you are doing."