100th ARW commander refocuses Team Mildenhall’s vision

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Christine Halan
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  The 100th Air Refueling Wing commander held his first commanders call June 23, 2015, on RAF Mildenhall, England.

Col. Thomas D. Torkelson provided Airmen of the 100th ARW a better understanding of who he is, along with his expectations, priorities, mission and vision.

Torkelson also mentioned the importance of staying balanced in everyday life in order to keep the mission going with Airmen pursuing life outside of work through their own faith, family, friends and physical fitness.

He explained the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa Command and 3rd Air Force all hold the same concepts in their visions: Mission, Airmen and Innovation.

The commander presented Team Mildenhall a new vision for the 100th ARW and what it means to be 'Squared Away:'- "Be Ready, Stay Balanced, Get Better."

Torkelson tied several concepts with the new vision he set for the 100th.

"When you hear me talking about being 'Squared Away,' I'm referring to the Square D and its importance as a symbol of operational and tactical excellence in World War II," Torkelson said. "I love the Square D as the symbol of our wing vision and what we're about. In particular, I like 'Be Ready, Stay Balanced and Get Better.' You can see readiness and mission in 'Be Ready.' You can see the Airmen piece in 'Stay Balanced,' and you can see innovation and a little bit of heritage in 'Get Better.'

"The Air Force has never been smaller than it is right now ... in terms of Airmen and airplanes, we're the smallest we've been since 1947," said Torkelson. "Because of that, and because we come from a long line of Bloody Hundredth alumni that came before us, we owe it to them and to ourselves to 'get better' along the way."

"I'm thinking, let's be squared away. What is the squared away standard? To me it means, Be Ready, Stay Balanced, Get Better," he said.