AFRC commander visits 442nd Fighter Wing

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. William Huntington
  • 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Lt. Gen. John Bradley, chief of Air Force Reserve and commander, Air Force Reserve Command, spoke to 442nd Fighter Wing Air Reserve Technicians about the future of AFRC during a brief visit to Whiteman AFB, Dec. 17.

As he addressed the group, he recounted his years as the Wing's commander and praised the Wing for its long and distinguished record of leadership and professionalism.

"You worked your heart out for me," General Bradley said of his nearly four years as the 442nd's Wing commander, "and I think I worked my heart out for you. I'm still trying to." He further emphasized the Wing's importance to him personally when he added, "(Because of you,) I would not be where I am today."

General Bradley spoke of the Reserve's expanding contribution to the Air Force and the Global War on Terror, noting that nearly 95 percent of the Security Forces at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, were reservists. Using Kirkuk SF troops as an example of Air Force Reservists' level of commitment, he said although the SF members had been mobilized for the deployment, most were volunteers.

"I fight hard for this Wing and I fight hard for this Command," General Bradley said. "You guys have some great airplanes out on that ramp that have a fabulous combat capability and those airplanes would have been almost irrelevant if we hadn't fought hard to get some things for them like our new interim solutions," he said, referring to several recent upgrades in the aircraft.

General Bradley talked of more extensive modifications to the aircraft when the Wing returns from its scheduled deployment next year and, for just over the horizon, he spoke of replacing the aircraft's engines, giving them more power to keep them flying to the end of their projected 2028 lifespan. Further on, he sees the possibility of the Wing replacing the venerable A-10 with the F-35 Lightning II.

On the personnel side of the equation, General Bradley talked of other gains for reservists. "We fight hard for benefits for you," he said. "We fight for pay raises, we fight for retirement pay. We've got (a bill) now that the President is ready to sign into law and they are reducing the age where you can start receiving your military retirement pay." The general was referring to a new law that will permit Reservists to lower the age when they receive retirement according to how much time they spend mobilized or deployed on active-duty orders.

Referring to the way the AF Reserve will do business in the future, General Bradley said the associate program will become more prevalent. Noting that much of the airlift side of the AF Reserve has been associate for some time with great success, he believes associations will be the trend with the fighter community including the 442nd.