314th AW commander urges graduates to look to future

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Chase Hedrick
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  The 314th Air Wing commander from Little Rock Air Force Base Arkansas spoke to SUPT Class 12-02 during their graduation ceremony on Nov. 18 in the Kaye Auditorium.

Col. Mark Czelusta asked graduates to think about how the Air Force would change over the next thirty years, advising them to look at the changes over the last 30 years.

"There's a lot of things that can happen in three decades. So I ask you, what will our Air force look like in three decades?" said Czelusta. "Think about it, how did air power change transform in roughly 30 years between World War I and the Korean War? What started off as cotton-covered airplaces turned into sleek supersonic fighters in just over 30 years."

The speed at which technology changes is too predictable to plan for said Czelusta, so he urged the graduates to focus on the quality of leadership in the Air Force, and a few facts about the future leaders of the Air Force.

"Fact one: The chief master sgt. of the Air Force in the year 2040 is in the Air Force today. He or she is probably an A1C with less than a year or two of service," he said. "Fact two: Our Air Force chief of staff in the year 2040 is also in the Air Force today, that person is probably a young company grade officer, maybe a new Aircraft Commander Flight Lead."

"I challenge you with a simple question, are you ready? For today's graduation is hardly an end in itself, it's really a beginning, and our Air Force needs you."