CENTAF commander praises 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Airmen

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. D. Clare
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq --  Lt. Gen. Gary North, U.S. Central Command Air Forces and 9th Air Force commander, visited the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Nov. 15-16, praising the Tuskegee Airmen for their contributions in Iraq and encouraging aspiring leaders to take advantage of their experiences.

"You're going to learn more about how to lead Airmen here [in Iraq] than you're going to learn in any three-year assignment," General North told a group of Airmen at a dining facility here. "You're the brunt of our business; staff sergeants, technical sergeants, lieutenants, and captains. You're the foundation -- the bedrock of our Air Force."

"General North highlighted the positive effects our Airmen, both in the air and on the ground, are having in Iraq," said Capt. Justin Mokrovich, 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group, deployed from Royal Air Force Alconbury, England. "I can't wait to get home, kiss my wife and hug my boy, but there is absolutely no other place I would rather be, doing exactly what I'm doing."

The general attended change-of-command ceremonies for two 732nd Air Expeditionary Group squadrons and received briefings from the group on prescreening procedures for post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

The 732nd AEG is comprised of approximately 1,500 combat Airmen who are tactically assigned to Army and Marine units in "in-lieu-of" taskings throughout Iraq. The general praised their brave contributions to the Global War on Terror.

He made a detour from his planned schedule to visit patients and staff at the Air Force Theater Hospital.

"It's good to see our leadership come down to the trenches -- or at least the 'middle-trenches' -- to see how we're doing," said Tech. Sgt. John Lafauci, 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group Intensive Care Ward shift leader, deployed from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

General North then visited 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal Airmen who engage in one of the most dangerous combat missions in the theater.

"He told us we were doing a good job and that we should stay focused on the mission. He talked to us about our core competencies of defeating IEDs and collecting forensic evidence and said we were helping to win the war," said Airman 1st Class Daniel Williams, an EOD journeyman deployed from Travis AFB, Calif.

The general also toured a new aircraft maintenance facility and congratulated deployed maintainers on the challenging mission here and lauded their ability to keep aircraft mission-ready and in the fight throughout the area of responsibility.

Following a demonstration on the Joint Airborne Communications System, he thanked air traffic controllers for their service maintaining the flow of aircraft on the busiest single runway operation in the Department of Defense.

The general also met with Airmen from the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron whose C-130 Hercules aircraft have significantly helped to reduce demands for ground transportation in Iraq, limiting hazards to Airmen, Marines, and Soldiers who performed dangerous convoy missions here.

General North concluded his visit at the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Expeditionary Detachment 2411, where he thanked special agents for their work identifying and eliminating threats to the base, government property and personnel.