Woodward addresses AF newest pilots

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Charles Dickens
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Maj. Gen. Maggie Woodward, acting Director, Operational Planning, Policy and Strategy, Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. and retired Brig. Gen. Dan Woodward returned to Columbus Air Force Base to speak at the graduation of Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training class 12-09 May 18 at the Kaye Auditorium.

This was the first time in CAFB history that there were two speakers for a class graduation ceremony.

"Our careers have been interlaced since we were cadets together and then first assignment instructor pilots here at Columbus together. It seems natural to us to come back together and be able to share our thoughts on what Columbus means to the Air Force and the importance of graduating pilot training," said Maj. Gen. Woodward.

"We have a lot of great memories here. We both got our wings here, we flew in the same formation and we both spent our first assignment here, so it just seemed to make a lot of sense to speak together here," said Brig. Gen. Woodward, spouse of Maj. Gen. Woodward.

The duo presented a slideshow photo album of many photos from American history that outline the service and sacrifice that the men and women from previous years have endured. The photos were also used to show the importance of the jobs of those who choose to wear a military uniform and the boots they have to fill.

"People learn differently, some learn by voice and some learn by visual. We like combining the voice and the visual aspects because we think those are the images that stick," said Maj. Gen. Woodward. "We hope that what we had to say is something that stays with the graduates."

"The biggest thing is that we wanted to make sure that the class understood that there are tens of hundreds of thousands of people that went before them that they represent and when they put their wings on they are representing a whole line of aviators that went before them," said Brig. Gen. Woodward.

Maj. Gen. Woodward explained that what she and her husband learned about the importance of team work, dedication, hard work and community support all came from here at Columbus AFB and grounded them for the rest of their careers.

After some time it's easy for instructors to lose sight of how important their job is to the students and to the rest of the Air Force, said Maj. Gen. Woodward.

"I think it's important for us to come from the outside and come back and remind them that everything in the Air Force begins here and we can't do anything without what Columbus AFB is producing, and that's pilots for the Air Force and our allies."

Maj. Gen. Woodward said that three pieces of advice to take away from the speech would be to forever trust in family, forever trust in the U.S. Air Force and forever trust in fellow Wingmen.