189th Airlift Wing attends 49th annual Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jessica Condit
  • 189th Alirlft Wing Public Affairs

    Throughout the four-day event, the attendees participated in courses that were designed to promote professional development and expose what the industry has to offer the mobility experts.

 

    “People at the A/TA are here for professional development,” said Sondra Hart, the Airlift/Tanker Association lead administrator. “The exposition shows different ways to improve the mission and make it better. Anyone can attend: aircraft mechanics, boom operators, aeromedical evacuation, pilots, etc. It’s a huge spectrum of people.”

 

    The symposium highlighted several keynote speakers to include the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Director of the Air National Guard and the Chief Master Sgt. Of the Air Force to name a few.

 

    During his speech, Chief Master Sgt. Kaleth Wright highlighted the endeavors of the air mobility community and expressed the importance of the Airmen who support the mission.

 

    “It’s significant to recognize the accomplishments of our Airmen and their contributions to air mobility,” said Wright. “It’s important for all our Airmen to feel connected to something that’s much larger than we are.”

 

    Gen. David Goldfein, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, responsible for the organization, training and equipping of approximately 660,000 active-duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen serving in the Air Force, discussed the diverse capabilities of air mobility and the immense outcome of the dedication to the mobility mission.

 

    “We operate on so many different levels,” he said. “When I talk about our Air Force, sometimes it is a challenge to describe what we do. We are a conglomerate. We operate from 100 feet below the surface in a missile silo to the outer reaches of high elliptical orbits, and every domain in between. You can’t find a mission that an Airman is not involved in helping contribute to its success.”    

 

    The 189th AW directly supports the combat airlift mission, training pilots, navigators, loadmasters and flight engineers who take their knowledge to their home station and employ it in all operational mobility activities. The 154th Training Squadron certifies approximately 450 Air National Guard students annually as well as international and inter-service students.