JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — U.S. Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Johnson, PACAF command chief, visited Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Alaska, Feb. 11 - 12, to thank Airmen for their dedication to the command’s mission and emphasized the importance of JBER’s operational readiness.

During the visit, the PACAF leaders toured facilities throughout the installation to meet Airmen and get a first-hand look at the broad spectrum of JBER mission sets.

The tour included the air traffic control tower, the 517th Airlift Squadron and the 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron. Each part of the visit featured briefings on what made the unit unique and how its mission affects PACAF.

Brown also held an all-call to speak to Airmen about several topics including leadership philosophies, command priorities and operationalizing our mission strategies.

“As I’ve come into command, there are several key parts I’ve been looking at … the National Defense Strategy and the PACAF strategy, and how these drive what we do as a command,” Brown said. “The National Defense Strategy is simple; we want to be a more lethal force while strengthening our relationships with allies and mission partners. The key focus to these strategies is taking them from just talking to executing.”

The PACAF strategy outlines the same goals for allies and partners, while also increasing lethality and interoperability when it comes to how we operate and exercise with new operational concepts.

During the all-call, Brown also emphasized the importance of readiness, and both operational and personal resiliency.

“When I think about readiness, it’s about not only being ready to fight tonight,” Brown said. “But being able to fight tonight, tomorrow, next week, next year.

“Secondly, how the operational and personal resiliency of our Airmen effects our mission readiness. If we’re not taking care of our Airmen, all the equipment and aircraft are just static displays. No matter how smart our technology is, it still requires the work of strong Airmen and families to get the mission done.”

Brown and Johnson concluded their visit by thanking the Airmen of JBER for their continued hard work and asked everyone to take care of their fellow Airmen.