JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein and his wife Dawn Goldfein, visited the Sky Warrior team, during their first visit here, Aug. 13-14.
During his visit, Goldfein learned about the unique history, mission, and challenges of the 15th Wing. Mrs. Goldfein, toured Hickam historic housing as well as the Child Development Center.
“What you do here at Hickam, is arm the Secretary of State and our diplomats, so they can negotiate from a position of strength,” said Goldfein.
Hickam Airfield’s strategic location allows for the assigned Airmen to enable, employ, and project combat power across the Indo-Pacific. Along with the 15th Wing, there are 12 tenant units on JBPHH.
“If you want to understand the why behind the things that we do, it is to ensure joint warfighting excellence,” said Goldfein. “Some of the things that we are focused on for improving our joint warfighting excellence is improving the squadrons. Squadrons are the fundamental fighting formation of the United States Air Force. Squadrons are where we build readiness, combat capability, and lethality.”
During an Airmen all call, Goldfein covered topics such as family support, talent management, and joint operations.
“I want you to think about how we execute our responsibility for air and space superiority, in leading joint campaigns,” said Goldfein. “When you think of joint leader development, don’t think about it in terms of joint duty. Think about it in terms of our obligation as the land based force that is responsible for arriving first in any campaign and halting enemy activity, while follow on forces can be brought to bear.”
Goldfein also spoke to Airmen about the rise in suicides and the need for discussion surrounding the issue.
“Right now, there is no data that we’ve looked at that indicates we have something going on that would cause an increase in suicides, but we cannot sustain these losses,” said Goldfein. “Suicide is an adversary that strikes with or without warning and leaves devastation in its path.”
From Aug. 1 thru Sept. 15, units will take a Resiliency Tactical Pause to start an ongoing dialogue about the force’s well-being. During this time leaders have an opportunity to engage their Airmen in a manner that fosters interpersonal connections and to actively seek feedback on resiliency.
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam was Gen. and Mrs. Goldfein’s first stop as they visit various units throughout the Indo-Pacific.