1 00:00:04,481 --> 00:00:06,460 - It is my distinct honor at this time, 2 00:00:06,460 --> 00:00:09,340 to present to you the 127th Wing Commander, 3 00:00:09,340 --> 00:00:11,573 Brigadier General John D. Slocum. 4 00:00:13,077 --> 00:00:16,244 (audience applauding) 5 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,140 - Well thanks everyone, great being here today. 6 00:00:22,140 --> 00:00:23,520 Working okay? 7 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:25,830 There it is a little bit better. 8 00:00:25,830 --> 00:00:27,250 Thank you all for being here today, 9 00:00:27,250 --> 00:00:29,860 this is a wonderful opportunity that we have 10 00:00:29,860 --> 00:00:32,502 to celebrate just some of the excellence 11 00:00:32,502 --> 00:00:34,950 that is the 127th wing. 12 00:00:34,950 --> 00:00:37,802 Let me start off today by making a couple introductions. 13 00:00:37,802 --> 00:00:40,382 One, in case you haven't met before, 14 00:00:40,382 --> 00:00:42,580 up here on this stage with me today, 15 00:00:42,580 --> 00:00:45,440 is our new Command Chief, effective this drill weekend, 16 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:46,510 Chief Danny McDowell. 17 00:00:46,510 --> 00:00:47,989 Welcome aboard buddy. 18 00:00:47,989 --> 00:00:51,156 (audience applauding) 19 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,760 Also changing this weekend, down here in the front row 20 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:00,990 and I haven't figured out if it's Saturday, Sunday, 21 00:01:00,990 --> 00:01:03,580 what they're arm wrestling about at this point. 22 00:01:03,580 --> 00:01:05,430 But taking over as our new Vice Commander, 23 00:01:05,430 --> 00:01:07,132 will be Colonel Stan Krasovic. 24 00:01:07,132 --> 00:01:10,299 (audience applauding) 25 00:01:14,230 --> 00:01:16,370 And Colonel Birch, we're gonna have a wonderful opportunity 26 00:01:16,370 --> 00:01:17,930 in the upcoming months to say thank you 27 00:01:17,930 --> 00:01:19,060 for all your wonderful service, 28 00:01:19,060 --> 00:01:21,360 but I'll do it one more time here in public. 29 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:22,934 Thank you for being a great wingman. 30 00:01:22,934 --> 00:01:26,101 (audience applauding) 31 00:01:29,300 --> 00:01:30,960 Also, you'll notice that our flags 32 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:32,690 are currently flying at half mast, 33 00:01:32,690 --> 00:01:37,023 President Herbert Walker Bush passed away last night, 34 00:01:38,380 --> 00:01:40,441 so the flags'll be flying at half-mast. 35 00:01:40,441 --> 00:01:43,510 A true American hero, in addition to being a president, 36 00:01:43,510 --> 00:01:45,050 if you don't know the history, 37 00:01:45,050 --> 00:01:47,320 he was an Avenger Pilot in World War Two, 38 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:49,510 shot down in the Philippine Sea, 39 00:01:49,510 --> 00:01:53,240 in the ocean for a couple hours, rescued by a submarine, 40 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:55,210 and spent another month rescuing others 41 00:01:55,210 --> 00:01:57,280 while a member of that submarine crew, 42 00:01:57,280 --> 00:01:58,620 until he could be put ashore. 43 00:01:58,620 --> 00:02:01,520 And then I heard he did some great stuff as President too. 44 00:02:02,450 --> 00:02:04,410 But in other words, a true American hero, 45 00:02:04,410 --> 00:02:05,890 and we're sad to see him pass, 46 00:02:05,890 --> 00:02:09,343 and that is why we have our flags at half-mast today. 47 00:02:09,343 --> 00:02:10,928 There you go, good. 48 00:02:10,928 --> 00:02:14,095 (audience applauding) 49 00:02:17,590 --> 00:02:18,710 And I'll start again, 50 00:02:18,710 --> 00:02:21,350 by reiterating just how proud I am of all of you; 51 00:02:21,350 --> 00:02:23,560 the fantastic work this wing does. 52 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:25,670 This is our time at the end of the calendar year 53 00:02:25,670 --> 00:02:28,200 just to spend a little time celebrating. 54 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:30,850 But I really do wanna thank all of the family and friends, 55 00:02:30,850 --> 00:02:33,520 especially that are coming in here for our award nominees, 56 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,360 for taking the time out on this Saturday 57 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,050 to come here this weekend, and spend some time with us. 58 00:02:38,050 --> 00:02:40,658 So thank you all again, appreciate it very much. 59 00:02:40,658 --> 00:02:43,825 (audience applauding) 60 00:02:46,814 --> 00:02:48,410 And this is also our weekend 61 00:02:48,410 --> 00:02:52,270 where we're going to be saying goodbye to our tag. 62 00:02:52,270 --> 00:02:54,350 Back in Lancing today, there's some ceremonies, 63 00:02:54,350 --> 00:02:57,730 but the tag, General Vadnais will be coming here, 64 00:02:57,730 --> 00:03:01,020 I believe it's on the 18th, to Howell, the Town Hall. 65 00:03:01,020 --> 00:03:02,700 It's gonna be during the week, 66 00:03:02,700 --> 00:03:04,650 but we'll make sure that we send out an invitation 67 00:03:04,650 --> 00:03:06,890 to make sure that everybody gets an opportunity to come in. 68 00:03:06,890 --> 00:03:10,003 This'll be his last chance to address the 127th Wing, 69 00:03:10,003 --> 00:03:12,200 as eight years is our tenure, 70 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,220 as our adjutant General here in the state of Michigan. 71 00:03:15,220 --> 00:03:17,809 So look forward to that, please mark that on your calendars. 72 00:03:17,809 --> 00:03:20,570 We'll also get an opportunity to say thank you to him 73 00:03:20,570 --> 00:03:22,230 for his wonderful and outstanding service 74 00:03:22,230 --> 00:03:23,630 to our state and our nation. 75 00:03:24,890 --> 00:03:26,000 I do wanna do one thing 76 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:27,669 that I do on most every award ceremony, 77 00:03:27,669 --> 00:03:31,170 is we're gonna talk about what we've done for the last year, 78 00:03:31,170 --> 00:03:33,730 recognize some of the fantastic performers, 79 00:03:33,730 --> 00:03:35,486 and this is just a representation 80 00:03:35,486 --> 00:03:38,910 of all the fantastic work that goes on across the wing. 81 00:03:38,910 --> 00:03:42,210 It is by no means comprehensive, does not cover everything 82 00:03:42,210 --> 00:03:44,170 by any stretch of the imagination. 83 00:03:44,170 --> 00:03:46,350 These are just some of the superlative performers 84 00:03:46,350 --> 00:03:49,150 that we're gonna get an opportunity to recognize today. 85 00:03:49,150 --> 00:03:52,270 But as we look at the last year, I wanna take a moment 86 00:03:52,270 --> 00:03:54,460 to always look at the year coming up. 87 00:03:54,460 --> 00:03:56,490 Last year we talked about two priorities 88 00:03:56,490 --> 00:03:57,690 that we were gonna have when it came 89 00:03:57,690 --> 00:03:59,467 to readiness and customer service. 90 00:03:59,467 --> 00:04:02,346 Well, we're twice as good this year, I'm gonna give you four 91 00:04:02,346 --> 00:04:05,410 real quickly today, and I'm unna go through them very quick. 92 00:04:05,410 --> 00:04:08,110 But the first one's gonna be a little bit of re-echoing 93 00:04:08,110 --> 00:04:12,260 of one of the other ones, which is expeditionary readiness. 94 00:04:12,260 --> 00:04:14,370 We exist to be warriors. 95 00:04:14,370 --> 00:04:17,700 We get paid, we get resourced to fight our nation's wars 96 00:04:17,700 --> 00:04:19,270 and defend our country. 97 00:04:19,270 --> 00:04:20,440 We always wanna make sure 98 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:22,610 that we're ready to do that as an away game. 99 00:04:22,610 --> 00:04:25,790 We don't fight our wars here, we do it other places. 100 00:04:25,790 --> 00:04:28,190 So we need to be ready to pickup and go, 101 00:04:28,190 --> 00:04:30,978 and we need to be ready to do our jobs when we get there. 102 00:04:30,978 --> 00:04:34,660 Unlike a lot of the Army Guard that is a strategic reserve, 103 00:04:34,660 --> 00:04:36,370 we are an operational reserve, 104 00:04:36,370 --> 00:04:38,745 which means we are ready to fight tonight. 105 00:04:38,745 --> 00:04:41,540 So we need to make sure that we have things done, 106 00:04:41,540 --> 00:04:43,410 we have things ready to go when we need, 107 00:04:43,410 --> 00:04:44,831 when our nation calls us to do it, 108 00:04:44,831 --> 00:04:47,110 we're gonna be sending a lot of people out the door 109 00:04:47,110 --> 00:04:48,332 to do our nation's business 110 00:04:48,332 --> 00:04:51,130 in the first part of this calendar year coming up. 111 00:04:51,130 --> 00:04:52,280 I look for your support, 112 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:54,406 and I look for you to do everything possible 113 00:04:54,406 --> 00:04:57,010 to get ready to be able to do your jobs. 114 00:04:57,010 --> 00:05:01,280 So expeditionary readiness and lethality are number one. 115 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:02,113 Next, 116 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:04,880 joint service. 117 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:06,760 Everywhere we go, everything we do, 118 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,603 involves working with our other sister services. 119 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:12,740 You name the different services out there 120 00:05:12,740 --> 00:05:16,030 to include the DHS branch the Coast Guard, the Navy, 121 00:05:16,030 --> 00:05:19,090 Marines, Army, everything we do has to fuse with them. 122 00:05:19,090 --> 00:05:20,080 In fact, we're even startin' 123 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,103 to look a little bit more like them in this process, Hooah. 124 00:05:24,925 --> 00:05:27,610 But the whole idea is it should be seamless 125 00:05:27,610 --> 00:05:29,560 whether we're in the Air Force, the Army, or the Marines, 126 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:31,760 we should speak the same language, do the same things, 127 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:33,730 have that common understanding, 128 00:05:33,730 --> 00:05:36,070 that common culture so that we can go out 129 00:05:36,070 --> 00:05:37,860 and fight together as a unified team 130 00:05:37,860 --> 00:05:40,030 with great synergies when we do our jobs. 131 00:05:40,030 --> 00:05:42,490 So we need to, especially within our state, 132 00:05:42,490 --> 00:05:44,490 where we have Army Guard counterparts, 133 00:05:44,490 --> 00:05:46,890 let's work and take initiatives to figure out 134 00:05:46,890 --> 00:05:48,660 how we can fuse together with them. 135 00:05:48,660 --> 00:05:51,429 Understand how the Army works, how the Army speaks, 136 00:05:51,429 --> 00:05:54,960 and help share our ideas on how we do business with them; 137 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,330 not in an adversarial way, but in a way 138 00:05:57,330 --> 00:05:59,800 that builds that comradery and that understanding, 139 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,273 so that we can be more effective war fighters. 140 00:06:03,780 --> 00:06:06,473 Third thing, we're going to continue to focus on 141 00:06:06,473 --> 00:06:10,170 a part-time drill status Guardsman. 142 00:06:10,170 --> 00:06:12,820 You are the lifeblood of this organization, 143 00:06:12,820 --> 00:06:15,250 you are what makes this organization great, 144 00:06:15,250 --> 00:06:18,160 and makes it stand out from our active duty counterparts. 145 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:19,667 Our part time employees, 146 00:06:19,667 --> 00:06:22,063 the active duty doesn't have part-time. 147 00:06:22,063 --> 00:06:24,380 It is our job as the guard to make sure 148 00:06:24,380 --> 00:06:26,480 that we advocate for our people. 149 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:27,710 That we make sure they have 150 00:06:27,710 --> 00:06:29,440 the opportunities that they need. 151 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,400 That there's the equivalency of experiences 152 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:34,680 between their civilian world and their military world 153 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:36,240 that they get proper credit, 154 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,700 so that we can take every advantage of the strength 155 00:06:38,700 --> 00:06:41,766 that is the citizen airman that makes us great. 156 00:06:41,766 --> 00:06:44,460 The foot stopper that I always go back to is, 157 00:06:44,460 --> 00:06:46,440 we are one third of the capability 158 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,880 of the United States Air Force, at 6% of the cost. 159 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,903 And we are that because of you part-timers. 160 00:06:52,903 --> 00:06:57,270 You will notice of many metrics that we have around here, 161 00:06:57,270 --> 00:07:00,460 that we're having more and more part-time commanders. 162 00:07:00,460 --> 00:07:02,070 My Vice Commander is going to be 163 00:07:02,070 --> 00:07:04,036 a drill status Guardsman going forward. 164 00:07:04,036 --> 00:07:06,470 We have six I believe it is right now, 165 00:07:06,470 --> 00:07:11,240 G series Commanders that are part-timers. 166 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:12,800 We're doing that on purpose. 167 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:15,360 We need to keep our focus where it needs to be 168 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,690 to play to the strength of the National Guard, 169 00:07:17,690 --> 00:07:20,110 and build on that going forward in the future. 170 00:07:20,110 --> 00:07:22,183 Our goal is not to look like the active duty, 171 00:07:22,183 --> 00:07:25,571 we have the same standards, we meet the same capabilities, 172 00:07:25,571 --> 00:07:28,890 but we are different, and we need to play to that strength 173 00:07:28,890 --> 00:07:31,070 that we have in the national guard. 174 00:07:31,070 --> 00:07:33,530 My fourth going forward for this next year, 175 00:07:33,530 --> 00:07:36,210 is what I'm gonna call unconstrained innovation. 176 00:07:36,210 --> 00:07:38,680 Which means just because we've always done it that way, 177 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,580 does not mean we need to do it that way going forward. 178 00:07:41,580 --> 00:07:43,700 I want us to think outside the box. 179 00:07:43,700 --> 00:07:45,810 I want us to find new ways to do things, 180 00:07:45,810 --> 00:07:49,070 innovative ways to do things, and for gosh sure, 181 00:07:49,070 --> 00:07:52,633 if something doesn't add value, let's just stop doing it. 182 00:07:52,633 --> 00:07:54,370 I'm gonna help you do that, 183 00:07:54,370 --> 00:07:57,590 I want you to help me identify things that we can do better, 184 00:07:57,590 --> 00:07:59,210 that we can do more efficiently. 185 00:07:59,210 --> 00:08:00,360 And this ties right back 186 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:03,320 to what I was saying with our part-time guardsman, 187 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:05,310 most of them work in places where they can see 188 00:08:05,310 --> 00:08:07,480 how things have worked better, where industry has come up 189 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:09,926 with solutions that the military hasn't embraced, 190 00:08:09,926 --> 00:08:11,900 bring that into our organizations; 191 00:08:11,900 --> 00:08:13,550 lets capitalize on that. 192 00:08:13,550 --> 00:08:15,180 Let's do things smarter and better 193 00:08:15,180 --> 00:08:18,340 and don't just accept the status quo. 194 00:08:18,340 --> 00:08:20,440 We can take risk, we can make decisions, 195 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:22,633 we can try things that are different. 196 00:08:23,730 --> 00:08:25,920 Just let us know and we will empower you, 197 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,810 and you're gonna help us do the job better going forward. 198 00:08:28,810 --> 00:08:32,110 Let's think of new ways to do our old business, 199 00:08:32,110 --> 00:08:33,870 and to be ready for the future. 200 00:08:33,870 --> 00:08:36,290 And all this ties together with the phrase 201 00:08:36,290 --> 00:08:38,510 that I like to call being ready today 202 00:08:38,510 --> 00:08:40,191 for the challenges of tomorrow. 203 00:08:40,191 --> 00:08:43,165 I cannot predict to you what's gonna be the problem sets 204 00:08:43,165 --> 00:08:44,651 that we're gonna have to solve, 205 00:08:44,651 --> 00:08:47,510 but if we have ready people with the right motivation, 206 00:08:47,510 --> 00:08:50,470 with the right skill set, we'll solve that problem 207 00:08:50,470 --> 00:08:52,110 whatever it happens to be. 208 00:08:52,110 --> 00:08:53,940 So as we head into the next calendar year, 209 00:08:53,940 --> 00:08:56,203 my challenge to you is being ready today 210 00:08:56,203 --> 00:08:58,508 for the challenges of tomorrow. 211 00:08:58,508 --> 00:09:00,880 'Cause it's gonna be an excellent year 212 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,907 as we head into Selfridge's next 100 years. 213 00:09:03,907 --> 00:09:08,070 Today we get to celebrate on this last year of excellence, 214 00:09:08,070 --> 00:09:09,780 so now let's turn it back over to Dan, 215 00:09:09,780 --> 00:09:11,650 and let's get back to our awards ceremony. 216 00:09:11,650 --> 00:09:14,623 Thank you for being here, and thank you for what you do. 217 00:09:16,197 --> 00:09:19,280 (intense rock music)