Chief Master Sgt. James Roy visits Arnold Air Force Base

  • Published
  • By Patrick Ary
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Roy and his wife Paula visited Arnold Engineering Development Center July 15. Chief Roy, who represents the highest enlisted level of leadership, is responsible for providing direction to the enlisted force and representing their interests, as appropriate, to the American public and those in all levels of government. The 16th chief master sergeant of the Air Force talked about his experience at Arnold AFB.

Q: What are your impressions of Arnold and its Airmen?

A: I'm absolutely impressed with the mission the Airmen are doing every single day. I say Airmen with a capital A. It includes all components of our force. The folks here at Arnold are very, very professional from what I've seen. I think the capability that they provide to not just the Air Force but the entire nation is one that sometimes we can take for granted, but it's certainly one that affects the defense of our nation every single day. Again, the people who I've met here have just been very motivating to me. I've always been a mechanical kind of guy - having grown up in the engineering community - so I may see it from a little different light than some do. But this kind of stuff really excites me; it excites me to see people that are enthusiastic about what they do.

Q: Now that you've visited Arnold AFB, how do you view assignments like Arnold, where there are few enlisted billets, fitting into Airmen's careers?

A: One of the things I talked about in the All Call was this idea of deliberate development, and within that there are three tiers: experience, education and training. This absolutely fits into what I would consider the experience. The Airmen who come here certainly bring a lot, especially those Airmen who have been out in the operational piece of the Air Force. They bring that side of the Air Force to the research and development community. And then on the other end of that, they're able to take what they have learned from the industrial base here and be able to affect their shops back in the operational Air Force. So I think it's a two-way street. It's not just what those Airmen provide forward; it's that experience that they give back. So to me, assignments like Arnold are means that we use to continue to develop our force for the future.

Q: Given your background in civil engineering, what kind of connection have you felt with the mission here at Arnold?

A: Going into the machine shop, going into the test cells and such ... I've always been a little bit mechanically inclined. I look at things and think to myself "How are those built, and what do they do?" So for me, it's exciting to see the level of professionalism that our people show here. When we look at places like Arnold, it's not just those young uniformed Airmen who are here; it's our DOD civilians, it's our contractors who are here as well. It's a total team effort, and that's what I see here.

The people here, it appears to me, are visionaries. They see the future, and they know what they do today affects that future. The mechanical side for me is exciting. I like to see someone take a block of aluminum or stainless steel and whittle it down to a functioning part for an aircraft or spacecraft, or the wind tunnels that will test those things is amazing to me, and it's exciting. It's absolutely exciting to see that.

Q: Have you observed anything at Arnold that will aid you in your representation of the enlisted force?

A: Absolutely. One of the things that I'll take from here is the team here and how the different components of the work force here come together to focus on the overall mission. To me, that's a lesson learned. It's not just the active duty component, but the small numbers of reservists you have here, the civilian work force, the contractors and how that all meshes together to the result of the mission here at Arnold. That's what I'll take back. And the other piece is how much impact those Airmen coming from Arnold can have on the rest of the Air Force as well in those different duty sections that they will work in - the experiences they have gotten here.

Q: Is there anything you would like to add?

A: A couple of things. No. 1, just to expand on deliberate development, a bit of advice for those Airmen who are coming here maybe for the first time: look at this assignment with open eyes. Make yourself better than you were when you got here. Allow yourself to embrace the community here, both on the installation and in the small towns around the community. Be a part of those communities. Tell your Air Force story. Tell what you do not just here at Arnold, but in the Air Force. Tell what you do for national security. To me, that is important.

And while we're talking about community, there's not an Air Force installation in the world that does things all by itself. It takes the support of the community. Here there are, as I understand it, two towns close to the base. I think those residents and the mayors of those communities understand what happens here at Arnold and appreciate what is done here for not just the Air Force, but for our national security. To me, that's hugely important.

And the last thing is our absolute appreciation for the family members. Although there are not a lot of deployments, there are not a lot of people, but the sacrifice that family members endure - whether it be those of us in uniform or large parts of our civilian work force - there are a lot of sacrifices our family members endure, and a lot of times we just take that for granted, and we shouldn't. We should tell them how much we appreciate them, and that's from somebody that absolutely understands that. As a part of the Air Force leadership team, Miss Paula and I absolutely want to pass along our gratitude for what they endure as well.