Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin visited Robins Air Force Base, Aug. 13, to speak with Airmen and receive mission updates on both legacy platforms and new missions being established at the installation.
To kick off his visit, Allvin held an all-call to speak directly with Team Robins Airmen about Great Power Competition and their integral part in adapting to the threat and competitive environment the Air Force and Department of Defense operate in today.
"On my way here, I was reviewing all of the different missions at Robins and they're pretty amazing. They are a melting pot of our Air Force," Allvin said.
During the all-call, Allvin emphasized the importance of modernization in support of the joint team, with a strong focus on the talents of the Air Force's technology, acquisition and sustainment workforce.
"Nations aspiring to be great powers and compete with other nations - that's where the competition is," he said. "That is competition for resources, power, influence and the ability to write the rules of the international world order.
"We can win through four core areas, which demand our attention," Allvin said. "Those key priorities include personnel development, readiness enhancement, power projection and capability improvement. How we project power and how we project readiness - these are things we need to reoptimize our extant force right now to more effectively project power into a theater where we may have to have complex operations toward a very capable threat."
Allvin added that to progress, the Air Force must emphasize organizational alignment, streamline decision-making processes and prioritize mission outcomes over narrow functional expertise. Equally crucial is building a dedicated workforce to attract, train and retain top talent. Throughout its history, the Air Force has thrived by embracing adaptability and change.
"I've been doing this for 9 months, and for the next 3 years and 3 months I'm committed," Allvin said. "We're not going to pause because the world is moving too fast. If you want to change course you have to be on course. And to be on course, you have to be moving. And we are going to move and get there together."
Col. Deedrick Reese, Robins Installation and 78th Air Base Wing commander, welcomed Allvin and appreciated the visit, as it served as an opportunity for the chief to gain a better understanding of Robins' needs, accomplishments and challenges.
After the all-call, Allvin attended briefings on the mission transformations taking place around Robins. He met with leadership from the 461st and 116th Air Control Wings, and the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, Det. 1, which will be standing up the 950th Spectrum Warfare Group in the coming months at Robins. He also met with members of the 18th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, which flies the E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node aircraft - a communications relay that provides commanders with an adaptable means of sharing information between multiple air, ground and maritime sources.
In addition to hearing about the new missions at Robins, Allvin also received updates on the missions Robins carries out to keep legacy aircraft flying. Allvin visited with members of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group to tour the C-130 Hercules aircraft depot maintenance area.
