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CMSAF Cody visits Keesler Air Force Base

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Ryan Labadens
  • 403rd Wing Public Affairs
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody visited with Airmen of the 403rd Wing, 81st Training Wing and 2nd Air Force here Sept. 22-23.

The purpose of the chief's visit was to thank Airmen, answer their questions and listen to their concerns.

Cody visited various elements of 2nd Air Force and the 81st TRW the first day, and wrapped up his visit the second day with further tours of 81st units, a briefing with 403rd Wing members and a tour of a WC-130J aircraft from the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron "Hurricane Hunters."  The chief also hosted two All Calls Sept. 23 to address various issues facing today's Airmen and to thank them for the job they do.

At the 403rd briefing, the chief discussed the Air Force Reserve's role in the Air Force as a whole. 

"We want to get as much mission from the reserve component as we can," said Cody. "By the same token, we need to have the flexibility to react to that mission when the nation calls us. So we need to find the right balance between the active and reserve components."

Chief Master Sgt. Vincent Armata, 403rd Maintenance Squadron aircraft maintenance superintendent, appreciated Cody's candid assessment regarding the future directions for the Air Force Reserve, especially concerning the pending inactivation of the 403rd Wing's Civil Engineer Squadron and the uncertainty of the future of the 815th and 345th Airlift Squadrons.

"With all of the uncertainty surrounding our 403rd Wing, it was good to hear Chief Cody's futuristic way forward for the Air Force as well as the Air Force Reserve in a general sense," said Armata.

403rd Wing member Senior Airman Anthony Gaston, 41st Aerial Port Squadron air transportation journeyman, ate lunch with the Chief Cody and his wife along with other Keesler Airmen, and he expressed his gratitude for the chance to voice his questions.

The chief expressed his confidence in both the abilities of Airmen and Citizen Airmen alike to meet the challenges they face in a fluid global environment.

"(You are) the most capable, the most trained, the most experienced fighting force the world has ever known. (Those are all things) that will be used to describe you in the generations to come," he said.