Gen. Gary North visits Kadena

Gen. Gary North, Pacific Air Forces commander, discusses "don't ask, don't tell" with Airman 1st Class Christopher Sawyer, 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels apprentice, during his visit of Kadena Air Base Jan. 11. Airmen from the 18th Wing had the chance to get ask various questions and get their answers directly from the PACAF commander during his Airmen's call. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady)

Gen. North visits Kadena Air Base

Gen. Gary North, Pacific Air Forces commander, watches a patient care in-flight demonstration performed by Maj. Stephanie Isaac-Francis,and Staff Sgt. Jay Bowling, both with the 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, during his visit to Kadena Air Base Jan. 10. This demonstration showed General North how the 18th AES provides medical support for patients while onboard an aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady)

Gen. North visits Kadena Air Base

Gen. Gary North, Pacific Air Forces commander, greets members from the 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron during his visit to Kadena Air Base Jan. 10. 18th Wing members had the chance to meet the PACAF commander and show him how they support Kadena Air Base. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady)

Gen North visits Kadena Air Base

Gen. Gary North, Pacific Air Forces commander, watches as Senior Airman Jonathan Allessie, 909th Refueling Squadron boom operator, as he refuels an F-15 during his visit to Kadena Air Base Jan. 10. General North was shown the 909th's refueling capabilities when the squadron refueled both F-15s and AWACS aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady)

PACAF commander talks to Kadena Airmen

Published Jan. 12, 2011
By Tech. Sgt. Mike Tateishi
18th Wing Public Affairs

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Gary North held an Airman's Call at the Keystone Theater, Jan. 11, addressing issues with roughly 650 Airmen from various career fields in a "Q& A" type setting.

One of the first questions out of the gates was regarding how we're doing with the new PT program.

"How many people like the new PT standards?" asked General North.

A majority of the hands in the theater went up. It appeared that the number of hands reflected the positive progress PACAF Airmen have made recently. General North said 40% of Airmen in the command now rank in the "excellent" category.

General North spent quite some time on physical fitness stressing that "it's about more than being fit to fight; it's about being fit for life."

Another hot topic was regarding budget cuts. An Airman from 909th Air Refueling Squadron asked if the Air Force was asked to "give up" something like the Marines have been asked.

General North didn't give any specifics of a particular program, but said that 2011 is the year of looking at our processes.

"You can't do more with less. You can do less with less," the general said.

He told Airmen that some of the major commands are looking at realigning, while redundancies in some areas would be eliminated. He said that most of this would be transparent to Airmen. The general wanted to let the folks in the room know senior leaders spend a lot of time discussing issues that affect "quality of life".

The last question addressed was regarding "don't ask, don't tell". A member wanted to know what the general thought of the Congressional ruling to reverse the policy. General North quickly turned the question back around on the Airman 1st Class and asked him what he thought.

The Airman said, it would be rocky at first, but he believed things would smooth out over time.

General North impressed that it's up to each Airman to support the decisions of our leadership and remain professional no matter what your personal beliefs are.

General North also visited various units at Kadena, with particular attention on the infrastructure needs of the wing.

He ended his visit by commenting on how proud he is of Kadena Airmen and their commitment to ensuring regional stability.