RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Halfway through a tour schedule of the bases in his command, Maj. Gen. Gregory Feest, 19th Air Force commander, took two days to visit the 12th Flying Training Wing and the people who make the mission happen here every day.
General Feest's visit on Jan. 29-30 was diverse, taking time to visit the pilots and instructors in training, but also spending time with Team Randolph members in several other areas of the base.
The general is responsible for managing all flying training within Air Education and Training Command, including the missions in the 12th FTW. 19th AF trains nearly 25,000 U.S. and allied students annually.
"Even though I live here, I wanted to spend a couple days with the wing to see what they wanted me to see and to listen to any issues they may have so I can help and support them," he said.
Those issues ranged from construction and infrastructure upgrade priorities to significant advancements in the wing's operations and support missions. Along the way, the general also took time to recognize many of the wing's recent award winners and served as the keynote speaker during the wing annual awards banquet at the Kendrick Club.
After an in-brief on Jan. 29, the general received a bird's-eye view from the top of the Taj of the new Base Exchange store construction project and the Airmen Heritage Park area.
He spent lunch that afternoon with enlisted dorm residents in the dining facility and received briefings on the closure of the facility and the enlisted dorm, which he toured after lunch.
His visit also included tours of the ramp, taxiways, south gate and Perimeter Road, where wing officials briefed him on their plans to upgrade those areas and related facilities, such as a new South Gate entrance adjacent to Loop 1604 to better handle commercial traffic and additional shelters for T-6 aircraft.
The general visited the main child development center to learn about the wing's desire to expand the facility to allow more base members to use it, followed by a stop at the Randolph Clinic where he got a first-hand view of the ongoing renovation there.
General Feest had breakfast at the fire station during his visit, where he learned of the wing's top military construction priority: a new fire rescue station to replace the undersized facility currently in use. He also spent time with the 12th Security Forces Squadron to learn about the unit's AFSO 21 success involving palletizing equipment for deployments. The 12th SFS process has become a benchmark in the command.
The general made a stop at the base deployment center in Hangar 71, where he saw the consolidated operations that relocated there in 2008, as well as the many self-help initiatives the staff completed at the center.
The 19th AF commander also saw a new device at the Trainer Development Flight that streamlines air refueling boom operator training.
Other mission enhancements during General Feest's visit here included the media blast facility staff's use of a new corn starch medium to strip paint from airframes and night vision goggle training advancements at aerospace physiology, where a computerized terrain trainer has replaced a 3D terrain display.
During the operations training portion of his tour, General Feest started at the 559th Flying Training Squadron where he took a flight in a T-6A Texan II the morning of Jan. 29.
Later that day, he visited the 563rd Flying Training Squadron where he spoke to combat systems officers and discussed one of his "near-term" challenges -- the CSO training move to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., as a result of 2005 Base Closure and Realignment legislation.
"I want to ensure that none of the outstanding training that happens here at Randolph is lost or dropped as we move," he said.
The general said one advantage to training at Pensacola will be a universally assigned CSO, meaning all navigators will complete the same training course.
"This gives us great flexibility in our navigator force," he said.
While at the 563rd FTS, the general also visited the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Fundamentals Course.
"I was totally impressed by the UAS officers' attitudes and their motivation," General Feest said. "I think unmanned aircraft systems is an outstanding program for those officers on their way to Creech (Air Force Base, Nev.) and I look forward to the future when all UAS training falls under AETC and the 19th Air Force."
Pilot instructor training was his next stop, where he explained his vision for the program is only surpassed by its effectiveness, saying "if it's not broken, don't fix it."
"The 12th Wing has trained our pilot instructors as far back as I can remember and every rated officer has been touched by an instructor that was trained here," he said. "The syllabus might change, the aircraft we use might change, but as far as training our instructor pilots, the 12th Wing does it right."
During his tenure, the general said he will work on requirements for a replacement aircraft for the T-38. He said although replacements are needed for both the T-38 and T-1, he will focus on the T-38 and use the research for future requirements.
"We need a replacement for the T-38 and at some point in the future we will need a replacement for the T-1, but I'm not sure if there will be enough money to replace both," he said. "So when we plan the requirements for the replacement for the T-38, we need to work on the requirements for both aircraft and make the right decisions for the future of pilot training."
General Feest also shed some light on the challenges facing 19th Air Force and the wing, saying he hopes to use the total-force initiative to tackle manpower issues across the command.
"Another challenge is the rated manpower issue throughout the Air Force, where we cannot man the staffs. In fact, some of the instructor billets are not fully manned," he said. "My goal is to work with the Guard and the Reserve to fill some of those holes. We can rely on each other to get the training done."
General Feest concluded his tour with an officers' call in the Parr Club, where he presented a Bronze Star Medal and nine Air Medals to Lt. Col. Todd Daggett of the 559th FTS, who recently returned from deployment.
As a Team Randolph member himself, the general congratulated the members of the wing on a job well done during the recent Operational Readiness Inspection.
"Congratulations on your recent 'Excellent' rating," the general said. "Thank you for the support you give to all the tenant units here, as well as 19th Air Force."