Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Flosi touted the strengths of Airmen in his keynote address at the Air and Space Forces Association 2024 Air, Space, and Cyber Conference, Sept. 16.
Flosi emphasized the importance of Airmen coming together as a team to support mission success.
"Airmen, you have always been our key competitive advantage," Flosi said. He later added, "We only succeed when everyone works to advance the cause."
Describing his observations of high-performing Airmen across the globe, Flosi noted how they are shaping operational readiness in critical regions such as the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility.
"Our Airmen haven't just been busy building their own skills, they have also been working hard to bring us new capabilities," Flosi said. "Even when it comes to technology, Airmen are our key competitive advantage."
Flosi highlighted the rapidly changing complex global security environment and emphasized the need for innovation to effectively adapt for an era of Great Power Competition.
"We are facing threats to our interests all over the world on a daily basis," Flosi said. "We face challenges in every domain. This is the most complex global strategic environment we have confronted in 30 years."
He pointed out significant challenges posed by adversaries, such as the People's Republic of China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran and Russia, and the adversarial worldviews of their governments.
"They are threatened by ideas like democracy and due process of law," Flosi said. "They fear our individual rights, like freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and protection from unreasonable search and seizure."
He explained the Air Force's role in "presenting a credible deterrent to demonstrate we are committed to defending our allies." However, he also emphasized that the Air Force needs to optimize to engage in high-end conflict if deterrence fails.
"The key to all of our transformative efforts is our Airmen," Flosi said. "Our focus is making sure our Airmen are prepared to deliver unstoppable Airpower to detect, deter, confront, and if called upon, combat and defeat potential adversaries."
In his closing remarks, Flosi called upon every Airmen to demonstrate unwavering commitment, reemphasizing that the true strength of the Air Force lies in the actions of its personnel.
"Our Nation is blessed to have the most competent, committed, educated and capable all-volunteer force on planet Earth," Flosi said.
He tasked attendees to remember two key takeaways.
"First, the threat is real," Flosi said. "The threat is present. The threat is here now. Second, your duty, your obligation, your main thing is to set conditions for your Airmen to be successful."
