Wing leadership visits deployed wingmen

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kate Maurer
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  After a three-month plus deployment to Moron Air Base, Spain, Airmen assigned to the 100th Air Refueling Wing saw the familiar faces of their commander, Col. Kenneth T. Bibb, Jr., and command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Tracy Jones, during a visit there Aug. 27, 2014.

Airmen from the 100th Maintenance Group, 100th Security Forces Squadron, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron and the 351st Air Refueling Squadron deploy to Moron AB every three to six months and while there they often work long hours in heat reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more ensuring the success of the air refueling mission.

"It's really cool that [leadership] cares enough to come see us, and that they want to see what we do and tell us how much they appreciate us," said Senior Airman Cameron Waby, 100th LRS mission-ready spares package specialist from Brandon, Minnesota.

Bibb and Jones visited multiple on-duty Airmen, attended several briefings for deployed personnel, ate at the dining facility and toured the dormitories. Additionally, the two hosted an all-call for Bloody Hundredth Airmen to discuss the mission, morale and other important updates on their home station and the Air Force.

"Whether you just got here or have been here for months, I'm going to talk about a bigger scope," Bibb said to open the all-call.

After listing several accomplishments, including multiple short-notice joint missions with the 352nd Special Operations Group, Icelandic air policing, Baltic operations and the fastest Combat Air Force deployment in the Air Force, Bibb repeated one phrase continually.

"You made that happen," Bibb said proudly to his Airmen.

He then referenced the movie "Argo" and its relevance to recent events at the U.S. Embassy in Libya. He said the movie gives an idea of what it's like being an American sitting in the embassy, knowing things were about to fall apart right outside the gate and someone has to be looking out for them, making sure they get back to safety.

"You made that happen," Bibb said again. "You're on a world stage - folks are watching, folks are seeing what you do, you're all making a difference and you're all making it happen."

Bibb and Jones also repeatedly thanked the group for their dedication to the mission and morale. As well as briefing about the job-well-done taking care of each other as wingmen, they said there are privileges granted to Bloody Hundredth Airmen at Moron AB that aren't the same across other bases as a way of showing their appreciation.

"Thank you for letting us be a part of this team," said Jones.

Bibb said he wishes he and Jones could make the trip more often to see first-hand their Airmen are well taken care of, but trusts the Airmen to carry out the high standards of the Air Force and the 100th ARW. And although this was a short visit for the two leaders, they tried their best to express to Airmen how grateful and proud they are to have them serving.
"You're going to remember the difference you're making for your country," concluded Bibb. "Thank you."