Fighter Wing Command Chief, Chief Tritle, Was Guest Speaker
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COMBAT EXCELLENCE-ALWAYS ON MISSION 2 COMBAT EXCELLENCE Welcome to the Spring 2021 Edition of the Beacon! As you may be aware, we’ve transitioned to a quarterly cycle while balancing more of our communications through the “124th in 124,” and the “124 FW BRRRT.” I am excited for everyone to see this edition as we highlight our heritage along with our most recent accomplish- ments across the IDANG. On the 24th of May, we celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the 190th Fighter Squadron, most notably as we revealed our new heritage aircraft, tail 618. It truly was a great opportunity to pause and reflect, not only on our earliest beginnings but also how far we’ve come. Two days later, on the 26th we honored Memorial Day with a ceremony at the Gowen Field Memorial Park where your Fighter Wing Command Chief, Chief Tritle, was guest speaker. Those two events were a great reminder of how important it is to stay connected to our heritage and our Idaho Air National Guard contribution to the history of our nation and state. In so many ways, this edition of the Beacon reflects the importance of what we accomplish each and every day. Make no mistake, the actions and accomplishments of our Airmen, today, are inextricably linked to our past and our future. We honor our past by continuing to answer our nation’s and state’s call. I can think of no better example of answering the call than the past 18 months, over which we mobilized in excess of 400 Airmen for our federal mission and 100s of Airmen for our state and homeland mission. These acts of service and patriotism are the latest chapter in our 75-year history. When we talk about being a part of something, serving a cause that’s bigger than ourselves, a big part of what we’re talking about is our heritage. We have an obligation to live up to the legacy of excellence that has coursed through our 75-year history. In honoring and living up to our past, we protect our future. As we publish this edition, we await decisions from Congress regarding the future of the A-10 in our United States Air Force. Idaho, along with our three ANG partner A-10 states (MI, IN, and MD) have come together to publically state that we support a decrement in the total number of A-10s from 281 to 218. This statement of alle- giance with the Air Force’s future capabilities roadmap is grounded in ensuring we maintain a fleet of A-10s that is both mighty (modernized), safe to fly (sustained), and honors the true challenges we face as a nation in addressing a near-peer adversary. When divestment of aircraft is considered, the obvious concern shifts to future mission opportunity. This is an emotional event for all guardsmen, as we are fundamentally tied to the mission we have in our state. The Idaho Air National Guard and the 124th Fighter Wing are highly competitive for future fighter mission opportunities. While past F-35 basing decisions have not favored Idaho for near-term basing, the process has highlighted Gowen Field as a top location, objectively speaking. We are blessed with an expansive installation–actively being modernized, access to world-class airspace with unique high-end range capabilities (266 RANS!), a near-peer partner in MHAFB, and ever expanding joint mis- sion possibilities with our IDARNG brothers and sisters, and the Orchard Combat Training Center. Subjectively speaking, it is our heritage of proven performance that endures today, our close ties to the citi- zens of this valley and across this state and our recruiting and retention resilience that make us ‘the first choice’ for future missions. Enjoy this Beacon, a testament to our beginnings and our stake on the future. Thank you for your service, honoring our past and preserving our future. ATTACK! Col. Smith The Beacon | Spring 2021 ALWAYS ON MISSION 3 Don’t Try to Pitch a Perfect Game In baseball a perfect game is defined as one in which a pitcher will face 27 batters up, 27 batters down. No hits, no walks, nobody reaching on an error. A flawless performance. Over 220,000 games have been played in Major League Baseball covering a span of 150 years. In all of those games, perfection has been achieved just 23 times. When I interviewed to become your Wing Command Chief, I sat before a panel that included our Wing leadership team and the State Command Sergeant Major. They thoughtfully asked what some of my goals would be should I be selected for the position. I responded that one goal would be to establish a deeper culture of customer service within the wing. I wasn’t necessarily ready to outline the plan in detail when I was asked, “what does that mean?” Here is the answer, albeit maybe a year late. Every Airman in this wing has a customer. Think about it, no matter where your work center is, you have a customer for whom you serve. You might supply material, give information as a subject matter expert, or provide medical support to ensure readiness. Regardless of AFSC, someone relies on each of us in one way or another. So how do we best serve our customers? A Major League pitcher does not take the mound in the first inning seeking to pitch a perfect game. In fact, most pitchers simply wish to throw a strike with each pitch. Each time they wind up and fire, they are looking to win that one single transaction. If they can win more transactions than they lose, they stand to win the game. Don’t strive for perfection, but do your best to get it right in the moment. With every customer interaction, I encourage focus on throwing a strike. It might require a few extra minutes of time (maybe even occasional overtime), it might require attention that was already set aside for another task, it might require flexibly within a process, or maybe it doesn’t require any of the above and we simply look to get it right the first time. Whatever the situation, do your best to throw the strike! I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that a perfect game is more than a pitcher having a good day. If there are no hits, it’s because each ground ball or pop fly was fielded successfully. The catcher has to call each pitch right to keep batters guessing, it’s a team effort. Commanders must ensure their flights and squadrons are equipped with the right resources, superintendents must make sure Airmen are developed commensurate to their levels of responsibility, supervisors must set the tone for service within their work centers and if done right, Airmen will be set up to successfully provide the services the wing needs. Will we record a perfect game? Probably not, but keep throwing strikes and we’ll surely win each day! ATTACK! Chief Tritle The Beacon | Spring 2021 4 COMBAT EXCELLENCE 7 8 14 16 20 22 TABLE OF CONTENTS SPRING 2021 2 COMMANDER'S LETTER 14 HAWGSMOKE 2021 CHAMPS 3 COMMAND CHIEF'S LETTER 15 VMA VISITS IDAHO 6 RANS RIBBON CUTTING 16 190TH DROPS LIVES AT OCTC 7 SFS HELPS WWII VETERAN 18 ASOS' LAND NAV TRAINING 8 HERITAGE UNVEILING 20 SPUDSMOKE 2021 102 DENIM DAY AT THE IDANG 22 GOWEN FIRE DPT TRAINING The Beacon | Spring 2021 ALWAYS ON MISSION 5 124TH FIGHTER WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS STAFF WING COMMANDER Col. Shannon Smith PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER Capt. Rebecca Solosabal PUBLIC AFFAIRS SUPERINTENDENT Senior Master Sgt. Joshua Allmaras PUBLIC AFFAIRS STAFF Staff Sgt. Mercedee Wilds Senior Airman Joseph Morgan Mr. Ryan White WHERE TO FIND US ON THE COVER: 124THFIGHTERWING.ANG.AF.MIL FACEBOOK.COM/124FW INSTAGRAM.COM/124FIGHTERWING FLICKR.COM/124FW 10 TWITTER.COM/124FIGHTERWING WWII HERITAGE A-10 pg. 10 THE BEACON is the official magazine of the 124th Fighter Wing, Idaho Air National Guard. It is published quarterly by the wing public affairs office. Views expressed may not be those of the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, Department of Defense or U.S. Government. The Beacon | Spring 2021 6 COMBAT EXCELLENCE Brig. Gen. Tim Donnellan, assistant adjutant general-air, and Chief Kelly Bongiovi, state command chief of the Idaho Air National Guard, visit the 266th Range Squadron to participate in a ribbon cutting of the RANS new Persistent Cyber Training Environment, March 31, 2021, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The 266th RANS supports the DoD with world-class threat emitter training and air battle management. The Beacon | Spring 2021 ALWAYS ON MISSION 7 We owe him everything we’ve got... and then some. 124th Security Forces Squadron defenders went above their daily requirements. To this group of 124th SFS and beyond to assist a 96-year-old World War II vet- members, it was an honor to help Brand and learn eran. about his service to our country. Retired Capt. William Brand was a P-47 Thunderbolt “Helping a veteran isn’t in our book for normal tasks, but pilot with the Eighth Air Force in Okinawa, Japan, dur- it’s a sense of honor to help someone like that, who not ing WWII. He now lives in Hailey, Idaho, but regularly only served our country but spent time in a war that we travels to Gowen Field in Boise, Idaho to stay at the are still benefiting from,” said Staff Sgt. Jonathan Finer, on-base lodging on days that appointments at the Boise a 124th SFS member.