Air Force Secretary visits Ali Airmen Published April 18, 2007 By Master Sgt. James A. Rush 407th AEG Public Affairs ALI BASE, Iraq -- The Secretary of the Air Force toured 407th Air Expeditionary Group facilities and dined with some of the unit's top Airmen recently. The Honorable Michael Wynne dined with the group's recent monthly award nominees, including Senior Airman Jacob Guillory, and electrical power production technician from RAF Mildenhall, England. Secretary Wynne, joined by U.S. Central Command Air Forces Commander Lt. Gen. Gary North, began his visit with a group mission briefing. Col. Larry Kauffman, 407th AEG commander, provided the initial presentation. More detailed briefings at the 407th AEG's squadrons followed as the secretary heard about the many projects undertaken to improve Ali Base. Airmen from security forces, services, communication, civil engineering, airlift, operations and logistics gave details about their units' accomplishments during Air Expeditionary Force 5/6. Leaving behind more capable bases for the next group is one of the strong points of the AEF system, according to Secretary Wynne. He last stopped at Ali Base only 18 months ago, but still was impressed with the many changes. "You get to be here for a short time," he said. "You see what it's like when you arrive and you see how you make it better." Secretary Wynne's visit was part of a two-base tour of Air Force units in Iraq. He flew into Kirkuk Air Base earlier in the day. During his Ali stay, he repeatedly thanked Airmen for their hard work and for representing the United States honorably. "We say that every Airman is an ambassador and you can look in the mirror in the morning and say that ambassador is me," he said. "[Through you] people can see that America is a good place to be from." Prior to leaving, the group's most recent monthly award nominees joined Secretary Wynne for dinner in the headquarters conference room.