As fortunate as I was to have one Air Force Cross on my watch, three years later I was privileged to have another. Captain Barry Crawford was awarded his for his heroic actions calling in airstrikes during a 2010 battle in Afghanistan, which allowed his special operations team to get out of the kill zone and ultimately saved the lives of his American comrades and allowed for the safe return of all U.S. forces, the evacuation of two Afghan commandos killed in action, and the rescue of three other wounded Afghan commandos. As I said that day in our Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes, “Captain Crawford repeatedly and conspicuously disregarded his own safety to assist his United States and Afghan teammates. It is not hard to be utterly impressed by his bravery and inspired by his selflessness.”
MENTORS
Suzie and I certainly could not have gotten this far without the magnanimous mentors who have shown us the way. We tried our best to do the same—to try, as best we could—to be an excellent couple ourselves—to work hard, to be good role models, to recognize excellence, and to celebrate it openly and joyfully. It seemed to work well for us over the years.
We see it in the number of babies that Suzie talks about in the squadron; we did our best to encourage them along the way, and have stayed connected to them over the years. Bob and Chris Otto are good examples of this. Bob has recently retired as a three-star deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
Then there’s Cheryl and Darryl Roberson, now an Air Force three-star and commander of Air Education and Training Command. Darryl was a squadron commander at Elmendorf in the 90th Squadron. Bob Otto was my ops group commander. And of course they were all there during 9/11.
Then there is Loren Reno. We were lieutenants at Clark together in the very, very beginning. He retired as a three-star deputy chief of staff for logistics, installations, and mission support. My hunch is that he would probably tell you that that we were mentors to him and Karen.
So there were both senior people and younger folks that we continued to encourage. It was great fun for us, and we hope, both valuable and fun for them.
Chapter Ten
TO THE VERY END
There are some things worth fighting for, and the country needs good people to do that work. There’s no great joy in combat, to be sure. But there is great joy in serving with people who place service above self, who understand that integrity is a profound attribute, and who every day actually do try to serve better than the day before. The fact that Suzie and I ended up as the first couple of the Air Force truly was an extraordinary privilege.
I believe the armed forces of the United States remain a meritocracy in which even a young man from a small town in south Jersey, whose father sold manual typewriters for a living, could grow up to be a chief of service—the highest ranking officer in that branch of the armed forces. And it’s not because I’m a particular hot rod and it sure isn’t because I’m a natural pilot—it’s because with hard work and good fortune, anything is still possible in this country. It’s not true in the UK, it’s not true in the French armed forces, and it isn’t true in the Asian militaries. There still are opportunities here for leading, for having a very productive public service career in the armed forces, no matter who your parents were. You don’t need to have a judge or a politician or a doctor or extraordinary wealth or anything else. Just passion for the country, conviction about hard work and character, and good fortune. The United States Air Force gave a youngster from a small town in New Jersey a home for forty years, and for that I will be forever grateful.
Public service is a noble endeavor, and America needs good people to do such work.
In the fall of 2011, the new two-star list came out and there were twenty-two new Air Force two-stars on the list. I knew just seven of them well. At that moment, I had an epiphany. It occurred to me that being the last man standing—which I was of my year group—had its downside. The leadership of our services is to some degree a generational occupation, and it’s not a good thing when a chief of service knows fewer than a third of his or her new two-stars. It was clear that it was time to move on. Intellectually I understood this. Emotionally it was a little tougher to grasp, for both Suzie and me.
Just a few months earlier, Suzie and I had attended a stirring dedication ceremony at Hurlburt Field. To commemorate the completion of her forty-seven-year journey, the MC-130E Combat Talon #64-0567 was unveiled as a static display in the Air Park. And what a storied journey it had been: she took fire in Vietnam, then returned to make history with Brenci, Meller, Uttaro, and Thigpen sharing pilot duties in the first fixed-wing airland flight using NVGs—a technology that was employed in her participation in Operation EAGLE CLAW, the attempted rescue of Americans held hostage in Iran. She led the airland assault into Rio Hato AB for Operation JUST CAUSE in Panama, then departed the country with an equally crucial mission: transporting Manuel Noriega, the captured Panamanian dictator, to Miami to stand trial for drug trafficking. In 2003—still a vital resource—she was one of the first MC-130Es to fly missions to Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
Most of the airmen in attendance wore either ABUs (camouflage airman battle uniforms), like Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Jim Roy, who was seated on Suzie’s right, or blue service dress, like Chief Master Sgt. Dale Berryhill, who was up-front sharing stories about the eccentricities of flying the Combat Talon. For me, somehow the only uniform that felt appropriate was my sage-green flight suit.
Front and center behind the speaker’s podium, the guest of honor looked magnificent—brand-new, in fact—with a fresh “Blackbird” camouflage paint scheme and the V-shaped Fulton STARS skyhook still secured to her nose. Hard to imagine that she logged over 21,000 flight hours. Suzie looked up at me and smiled when CMSgt Berryhill said, “Each [aircraft] has a unique attitude and often quirky personality. There’s a good reason she’s nicknamed Wild Thing.”
Suzie knew me well enough to recognize that this was hitting me very close to home. From my first introduction to the special operations community through my initial command as a general officer, this “Wild Thing” was so much a part of my personal journey. I’d spent so many hours inside that cockpit with Uttaro and Hobson, learning new techniques and improving those I thought I knew. But more than that, I was learning what it meant to be a leader, and how character and integrity and one’s word and transparency are every bit as important to inspire and motivate one’s crew as is a proficient mastery of the flight controls.
“64-0567 has served its crews and nation proudly,” the chief concluded. But he might as well have been echoing the pride that Suzie and I felt when we recognized that it was time to move on. We had devoted ourselves to trying to lead our Air Force in an honorable way, so we left without regret and believing that we did our best. We ran hard and we had given it every ounce of our beings and our passions—and so it was time to pass the torch and we did so to a very, very good couple … the Welshes.
We’re still privileged to receive congressional invitations to testify on various issues upon which they believe I may shed some light. On November 10, 2015, Arizona Senator John McCain announced, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the beginning of a new effort to “reconsider, and possibly update” the Goldwater–Nichols legislation of 1986. I was invited to share some thoughts and recommendations with the committee, and I did so on December 10, 2015.
It felt wonderful to be back inside the huge Senate Armed Services Committee hearing room, SD-G50 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. It was perhaps unusual that I was not confronted by Senator McCain when he commenced with his interrogation. Please don’t misunderstand—it’s not that he actually cracked a smile, but it was certainly a more cordial interplay than I had experienced in the past. Of significance is that they sought out input from some of us who have swapped our dress blues for business suits, and we were honored to provide that input.
As for Suzie, although I never thought it possible, I believe she’s even busier
now than she was during our active service years—and that time is 100 percent devoted to her worthwhile causes: She continues to support Sesame Workshop for military families, Operation Homefront, the Armed Services YMCA, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, the Fisher House Foundation, the National Military Family Association—and that’s all on top of her endeavors as president of the Military Spouse Programs for Victory Media, the publisher of Military Spouse magazine.
* * *
Complex situations during tough times can unleash greater creativity and innovation, aiming us toward novel solutions. The catalyst for all this is leadership, the kind that harnesses individual brilliance into collective genius and leverages individual efforts into team achievements. If there is a legacy from our service, Suzie and I hope in the end it is this: family and teamwork. That was the signature of our tenure.
As for the opportunity to write this book, I’m admittedly a modest voice compared to others, but a very thankful one nonetheless.
Suzie is engaging and always authentic.
* Chart denotes effective dates of promotion.
GLOSSARY
1st Lt—First lieutenant
2d Lt—Second lieutenant
ABU—Airman battle uniform
A1C—Airman First Class
AC-130—Spectre four-engine turboprop gunship
ADM—Admiral
AFA—U.S. Air Force Academy
AFA—Air Force Association
AFB—Air Force base
AFSOC—U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command
AF/XO—Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations
Amn—Airman
AH-64—Apache helicopter gunship
Airman—Enlisted rank
Airman—any member of the Air Force (military or civilian, male or female)
AO—Action Officer
AOC—Air Officers Commanding
ASTRA—Air Staff Training Program
AWACS—Airborne Warning and Control System
B-1—Lancer strategic bomber
B-2—Stealth bomber
B-52—Stratofortress strategic bomber
BDU—Battle dress uniform
BFM—Basic Fighter Maneuvers
BG—Brigadier general (Army)
Brig Gen—Brigadier general (Air Force)
Black Hawk—UH-60 utility helicopter
C-130—Hercules four-engine turboprop transport aircraft
C-5—Galaxy jet transport aircraft
C-17—Globemaster jet transport aircraft
CAT—Crisis Action Team
CCM—Command Chief Master Sergeant (Air Force)
CENTAF—Central Command, Air Force Component
CENTCOM—Central Command; one of America’s Unified/Joint Commands
CG—Commanding General (Army)
CG—Coast Guard
CH-47—Chinook helicopter
CIA—Central Intelligence Agency
CINC USCENTCOM—Commander in Chief, Central Command
CINC—Commander in Chief
CINC—President of the United States
CJCS—Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
CMSAF—Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
CMSgt—Chief Master Sergeant
Col—Colonel (Air Force)
COL—Colonel (Army)
CONUS—Continental United States
CP—Command post
CPL—Corporal (Army)
Capt—Captain (Air Force)
CNO—Chief of Naval Operations
CPT– Captain (Army)
CSA—Chief of Staff of the Army
CSAF—Chief of Staff of the Air Force
CSAR—Combat search and rescue
CT—Combat Talon (I and II); MC-130 Hercules Special Operations aircraft
DAIG—Department of the Army Inspector General
D-Day—Beginning of hostilities
DDO—Deputy Director of Operations
DEPORD—Deployment order
DIA—Defense Intelligence Agency
DJS—Director of the Joint Staff
DoD—Department of Defense
DOV—Chief of Standardization and Evaluation
DZ—Drop zone
EAC—Emergency action cell
F-15—Eagle fighter jet
F-16—Falcon fighter bomber
F/A-18—Naval/Marine fighter bomber
F-22—Raptor fighter jet
F-35—Lightning fighter jet
F-117—Night Hawk stealth bomber
FAC—Forward air controller
FBI—Federal Bureau of Investigation
FLIR—Forward-looking infrared
FOB—Forward operating base
FRAGORD—Fragmentary order
GCCS—Global Command Control System
G-Day—Beginning of ground phase of a campaign
Gen—General (Air Force)
GEN—General (Army)
GOMO—General Officer Management Office
GPS—Global Positioning System
Hellfire—Laser-guided antitank missile
H-Hour—The specific hour at which a particular operation commences
HQ—Headquarters
HUMINT—Human intelligence (as opposed to electronic or signals intelligence)
Humvee—High-mobility, multipurpose wheeled vehicle
IADS—Integrated Air Defense System
ICAF—Industrial College of the Armed Forces
ICBM—Intercontinental ballistic missile
IED—Improvised explosive device
IFR—Instrument flight rules
IG—Inspector General
J-1—Personnel staff officer/section, joint headquarters
J-2—Intelligence staff officer/section, joint headquarters
J-3—Operations staff officer/section, joint headquarters
J-4—Logistics staff officer/section, joint headquarters
J-5—Strategic plans and policy staff officer/section, joint headquarters
J-6—Communications staff officer/section, joint headquarters
KC-10—Aerial refueling jet aircraft
KC-135—Aerial refueling jet aircraft
JATO—Jet-assisted take-off
JCS—Joint Chiefs of Staff
JDAM—Joint direct attack munition
JIC—Joint Intelligence Center
JOC—Joint Operations Center
JRSC—Jam-resistant secure communications
JSOC—Joint Special Operations Command
JSOTF—Joint Special Operations Task Force
JSTARS—Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System
JTF—Joint Task Force
LAPES—Low-Altitude Parachute Extraction System
LG—Lieutenant general (Army)
LLDB—Vietnamese Special Forces
LNO—Liaison officer
Lt—Lieutenant (Air Force)
LT—Lieutenant (Army)
Lt Col—Lieutenant Colonel (Air Force)
LTC—Lieutenant Colonel (Army abbreviation)
Lt Gen—Lieutenant General (Air Force)
LZ—Landing zone
M1A1—Abrams tank
MAC—Military Airlift Command
MACV—(U.S.) Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
Maj—Major (Air Force)
MAJ—Major (Army)
Maj Gen—Major General (Air Force)
MC-130—Special Operations variant of Hercules four-engine turboprop aircraft
MEDEVAC—Medical evacuation helicopter
MEUSOCs—Marine Expeditionary Forces, Special Operations Capable
MG—Major General (Army)
MH-47—Chinook helicopter (Special Operations)
MH-53—Pave Low helicopter (“Super Jolly Green Giant”) (Special Operations)
MH-60—Black Hawk helicopter (Special Operations)
MI—Military intelligence
MOS—Military occupation specialty
MQ-1—Predator armed remotely piloted aircraft
MQ-
9—Reaper armed remotely piloted aircraft
MRE—Meals, ready to eat
MSG—Master Sergeant (Army)
MSgt—Master Sergeant (Air Force)
NATO—North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NBC—Nuclear, biological, chemical
NCO—Noncommissioned officer
NEO—Noncombatant evacuation operations
NGO—Nongovernmental organization
NMCC—National Military Command Center
NORAD—North American Aerospace Defense Command
NSA—National Security Agency
NSC—National Security Council
NTC—National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California
NVA—North Vietnamese Army
OPLAN—Operation plan
OPORDS—Operation orders
PDB—President’s Daily Brief
POW—Prisoner of war
Predator—MQ-1 armed remotely piloted aircraft
PSYOPS—Psychological operations
PT—Physical training
PVT—Private (Army)
RADM—Rear admiral (upper half)
RDML—Rear admiral (lower half)
ROK—Republic of Korea
ROTC—Reserve Officer Training Corps
RPG—Rocket-propelled grenade
RPA—Remotely piloted aircraft
RPV—Remotely piloted vehicle
RQ-4—Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft
RQ-170—Sentinel remotely piloted aircraft
SATCOM—Satellite communications
SCIF—Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility
Scud—Soviet-design ballistic missile
SECDEF—Secretary of Defense
SF—Special Forces
SFC—Sergeant First Class (Army)
SGM—Sergeant Major (Army)
SGT—Sergeant (Army)
SIGINT—Signals intelligence
SMU—Special Mission Unit
SMSgt—Senior Master Sergeant
SOCCENT—Special Operations Command, Central Command
SOCEUR—Special Operations Command Europe
SOCOM—Special Operations Command
SOF—Special Operations Forces
SOG—Special Operations Group
SOS—Special Operations Squadron
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