View from above -- Vice commander outlines 10th Air Force priorities, programs

  • Published
  • By Maj. David Kurle
  • 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  The two biggest priorities for 10th Air Force, the 442nd Fighter Wing's higher headquarters, are completing the Base Realignment and Closure process and meshing the numbered-Air Force's Reserve units with active-duty missions and units as part of the Air Force's Total Force Integration project, according to the 10th AF vice commander. 

Brig. Gen. Patrick Cord visited Whiteman Air Force Base Sept. 4-9 to fly the 442nd FW's A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, an aircraft he has been flying for 27 years, and to present awards to wing members during the unit training assembly. 

He has been at his position at Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth for more than a year now since giving up the reins of the 442nd Fighter Wing in July 2006.
General Cord assists in leading 10th Air Force during a time of transition for Air Force Reserve Command as it continues to transform from a strategic to an operational force in reserve. 

The command is looking at standing up additional Air Combat Command-gained associate units where active-duty and Reserve Airmen will team up to share missions and aircraft - currently associate units flying fighter aircraft are based at Hill AFB, Utah, and Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. 

Tenth Air Force is at the forefront of AFRC's efforts to expand its role into new mission-areas, such as space and cyberspace, and get its share of new aircraft, such as the F-22 Raptor. 

General Cord granted an interview for the 442nd Fighter Wing's monthly magazine, The Mohawk, during his visit and shared some of his insights into the present and future states of 10th Air Force.

Mohawk: Sir, can you describe the two or three most significant issues facing 10th Air Force at this time?

General Cord: "I would say the two biggest things that we have going on in 10th AF that take the most time, effort, thought and planning are finishing the (Base Realignment and Closure process) BRAC and all of our Total Force Integration (TFI). 

"I prepared a mission brief when I got down there last year, and as I prepared this mission brief I took a look at all of the units that we have within 10th. There is not a single unit within 10th that is not somehow affected by BRAC or TFI - not a single unit! Whether it was a plus up to 24 (PAA), like this wing; if it was a closure or a movement, like the 926th Fighter Wing or a new mission stand-up at Buckley, there wasn't a single unit that wasn't affected. We had a space group that's upgrading into a wing. We've got new missions at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Those things take the most time. 

"What I'm trying to get the 10th AF staff and the Air Force Reserve Command staff focused on is to think strategically about our TFI as we start new missions and stand up associate wings. For example, at Moody (AFB, Ga.), did we plan for enough bodies to go into Moody to begin with? Are we fulfilling what the active duty wants? Each associate unit is different. You can't say when you start a unit at Moody, it will be the same way you start a unit at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., nor will that be the same when we start the Global Hawk unit at Beale AFB, Calif. 

"It requires a whole different mind-set from the headquarters' staffs. The entire staff needs to be thinking strategically and not to give an 'Oh, we've always done it this way,' answer. That is what takes the most amount of time for us right now, is starting the new missions. I want us to all think strategically and not wait for things to happen. In my opinion, sometimes in the old days the NAF (Numbered Air Force) just sat and waited for the phone to ring from the units saying 'hey, here's my problem.' We, as a headquarters, can't do that anymore."

Mohawk: With the stand-up of an associate unit at Elmendorf AFB and the conversion of the fighter wing at Hill AFB to an associate unit, not to mention the addition of an A-10 associate unit at Moody AFB, are we going to see Air-Combat-Command-gained units operate as associate units in the future?

General Cord: "Yes, from what I understand from the meetings I attend. The whole Air Force is drawing down because of Presidential Budget Directive-720 and General (T. Michael) Moseley's (Air Force chief of staff) decision to re-capitalize our equipment. 

"We can not afford to fly aircraft that are becoming older than the people flying the airplanes. The average age of our tankers is now in the 40's. The Air Force has projected out that we may have people flying these same tankers that have yet to be born. We can't do that anymore so General Moseley had to come up with some money, so his way to do that was to streamline our processes and our people. By streamlining how we do business and how many people we have on board the Air Force can channel the money saved to re-capitalize our aging aircraft fleet. 

"But as he recapitalizes, the cost of recapitalization, especially on the fighter side, is expensive. You can't trade one F-16 for one F-35. You have to trade three or four F-16s for one F-35, just like two or three F-15s for an F-22. So, the associate unit construct will allow us to maximize the use of our resources. Because it's proven itself in the airlift world and it's been very, very effective, we're just going to do adopt the same approach on the fighter side. The future may see the associate unit as the norm not the exception.''
Mohawk: Has your perspective on how the Air Force Reserve operates changed since leaving a wing-level leadership position to take over the vice commander position at 10th Air Force?

General Cord: "Obviously, there's a different allegiance. When I was here (at Whiteman AFB) I would fight for money for this unit. I was all about the 442nd. If I went to a food fight or a money fight, I didn't care about other wings so much. If the 442nd needed it, we, obviously, were number one and needed all the money. So, that perspective has had to change. I've had to get a little more objective. When each of the wing commanders see me to fight for their units, I think, 'I used to be you.' So, that part's changed. 

"I have had the opportunity to be at a few more high-level meetings and listen to General Moseley, (Air Force) Secretary (Michael) Wynne and (ACC commander) General (Ronald) Keys and hear, not necessarily in a formal way, but in somewhat informal settings, from leadership about how they came to a decision on an issue. I listen to the background leading up to a decision and it really gives me a much better understanding and the ability to go out and say, 'hey, these guys aren't just winging it, they really thought through this.' 

"So, it has been nice to have access because everybody asks you how senior leadership made certain decisions. I can sit down and say 'well, here is the process we went through.' 

I miss the people connection. You don't get quite the same people interaction. Tenth Air Force vice commander is a good job and it's a challenging job.''

Mohawk: What did you take away from your tenure as the 442nd Fighter Wing commander and how did you incorporate that into your leadership position at 10th Air Force?

General Cord: "I took the same philosophy I had here at Whiteman, and that was, in a nutshell, continuous improvement. When I was the wing commander, I tried to instill in people that the 442nd Fighter Wing is really good at what it does, but at times you can get stuck in a rut or think that because you're the best you don't have to continually improve what you are doing. I took that same philosophy to 10th Air Force because as a wing commander I felt there were times I didn't get the support I thought I should have gotten from some of the directorates at 10th. 

"I'm trying to emphasize strategic thinking. We cannot wait for the phone to ring, we need to be thinking for our units about TFI and other things. We need to be out front helping solve problems before the units see them, so the units don't have to solve those problems, they can go about their business because we're asking them to do a whole lot with limited resources. 

"We need to be on our toes, that's the one thing I've tried to do, and that's been difficult, when you go to a numbered Air Force that hasn't been tasked for many, many years of trying to get it re-energized."

Mohawk: What did you learn from living and working in Missouri?

General Cord: "In general, Missouri is a wonderful place. In the two-and-a-half years Mary (Cord, the general's wife,) and I were here, we formed some of the closest relationships we've ever formed, not only in the military, but in the public sector. That has to be a credit to the caliber of people in Missouri. 

"As the vice commander for 10th Air Force, I don't have to worry about the 442nd. When Col. Steve Arthur (442nd FW commander) calls me, I know he's got an issue and it needs my attention - and he calls me very seldom. I know because of the wing's culture - that mid-Missouri work-ethic - or that Midwest work ethic, that work ethic is going to permeate and keep the 442nd at such a high level of performance. They're not going to tolerate anything less."

Mohawk: Is the A-10 still a viable platform in the Global War on Terror? Is the airframe as relevant today as it was 20 years ago?

General Cord: "Absolutely. The A-10 is going to be a bridge aircraft for the combat air forces. The combatant commanders love it. In the battles we're fighting right now, Lt. Gen. (Gary) North (Central Command Air Forces commander) would love to have the A-10's 30-milimeter gun capability everywhere, because of its lethality, low amounts of collateral damage and its precision - it's a good little weapon. The A-10 is very useful in the war on terror and it's viable in other wars because of the precision-engagement modifications being made right now."

Mohawk: So, when you say the A-10 is a bridge aircraft, you see it outlasting the F-16?

General Cord: "If you look at most of the charts, I think the F-16 retires earlier than the A-10 for a couple of reasons. The F-16 is wearing out quicker - it pulls more Gs and that stresses the metal. They're having fatigue issues with the F-16, so it's going to go away sooner, which makes sense because that's the first airplane the F-35 replaces. But we can keep the A-10 on board because now it's a precision engagement platform and we can use it in the combat theaters we're operating in now."

Mohawk: Do you see close air support as a viable mission 20 years from now, with the advent of unmanned-aerial-vehicles and other technological changes to the conduct of modern warfare?

General Cord: "Yes and no. If you talk to the special operations units, then the answer is 'yes.' Of course the special operations world would like own the A-10 and keep it inside their span of control. 

"If you extrapolate from some of the theories out there about these little wars, like we have now in third-world countries, close air support is a vital capability. If you go to a big theater war, CAS would play a very small role. 

"I think we are 10 or 20 years from having appropriate un-manned combat aerial vehicles the Army trusts well enough to use for close air support. For that reason, I think we'll have some need for CAS until that happens. 

"In the future we're going to have a lot more unmanned aircraft and they are going to pick up a lot more of the missions. When you look at air interdiction, which is one of the missions that the A-10 does now, the Air Force may use these unmanned airplanes first for the air interdiction role, and then the A-10 be able to do some of the clean up actions. But, that's one man's opinion.''