LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Brig. Gen. Mark Barrett, 1st Fighter Wing commander, recognized superior performers, spoke about upcoming challenges, and answered questions from the wing during his final commander's call March 30 at the static hangar.
General Barrett will relinquish command of the wing to Col. Matthew Molloy on May 8.
"Our mission at the 1 FW is to fly, fight and win, whenever and wherever we are called upon by the Air Force or our nation," said General Barrett. "In my tenure as the commander, I have been amazed by the continued quality of your efforts."
General Barrett added that the upcoming Operational Readiness Inspection is less than a year away, and Langley Airmen must remain professionally, medically, personally and mentally prepared during wing exercises.
"We must take these exercises seriously," said General Barrett. "At any given time, we could be tasked to deploy in less than 96 hours, and we must be ready to go."
General Barrett said he is proud of the accomplishments and awards that Langley has earned. The Airmen at the Langley hospital have received more than 500 awards alone during the past year.
"I want to thank the Airmen for their hard work and the commanders and supervisors for putting together packages so these Airmen can be recognized," he said. "The level of award winners and pure excellence is outstanding."
General Barrett encouraged wing members to participate in the upcoming Hampton Roads Air Force Week and AirPower over Hampton Roads activities scheduled for April 18 to 26.
"This is a chance for us to get off the base and go out into the community to say thanks and educate folks about the Air Force," he said. "The open house is a great event to take our families to and show our appreciation for what they do for us.
"At the end of the day, if a child sees the F-22 Demonstration Team and the Thunderbirds and starts a dream to fly, fix, or support (the aircraft), then it's been a complete success."
General Barrett then opened the floor to Airmen and civilians in attendance. To stimulate the audience, he asked, "What would you do if you were the 1st Fighter Wing commander for a day or the Air Force chief of staff for a day?"
Topics discussed included parking on base, longer hours at base facilities, how to improve the Air Force uniforms and proper training for new technologies.
Those unable to attend or ask their question can send an e-mail to the 1st FW Command Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Slater at 1fw.ccc@langley.af.mil.