COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Chief Master Sgt. Robert Boyer, 19th Air Force Command Chief, accompanied Maj. Gen. James Hecker, 19th AF Commander, Jan. 20-21, to spend time with Team BLAZE Airmen here.
“Every time I visit Columbus I am very impressed with the people on this base,” Boyer said.
During his visit, he interacted with enlisted Airmen at several venues including lunch, the tower, the clinic and more. He listened to the concerns of Airmen and interacted with them in their everyday lives.
Boyer explained his philosophy on the core values and advocated using the Profession of Arms Center of Excellence to develop and shape these values.
“PACE brings no-cost tools to everyone at the flight, squadron, group and wing level,” Boyer said. “It gives us relevant tools to understand issues. Not only do PACE tools help with training, but they give us quick lessons to take away on a great deal of subjects.”
Going further into the program, he shared the driving question that PACE answers.
“How do we invest in human capital?” Boyer said. “The scenarios in these tools make us better people, which in turn makes us better Airmen.”
Boyer emphasized the value of education and its benefits over the course of an Airman’s career.
“The need for education is a high priority, but not the only priority,” Boyer said. “First and foremost, you need to be good at your Air Force Specialty Code. Without job proficiency, not much else matters. Off duty and ancillary education should enhance and support your career as an Airman.”
He said two types of education were important for success.
“Education can be broken down into scholastic education and into real experience,” Boyer said. “Both are vital and play off each other.”
It was recently released that for the first time since the days of the Army Air Corps, enlisted Airmen would fly. Boyer supports the idea of enlisted Airmen flying Remotely Piloted Aircraft, and thought it was great how the enlisted career field is expanding.
“Adding enlisted Airmen into the RPA career field will help address issues with manning and increase the capacity for our mission while offering more opportunities,” Boyer said.
Boyer also explained how he views an Airman’s legacy.
“You can look at a legacy in a couple different ways,” Boyer said. “I view it as what you impacted during your time. On a personal level, I ask what I did in my tenure to carry on the aspects I thought were of most value.
“At the end of your ride, I would love you to say, ‘I took something from those I served with, made it a part of who I am, and shared it with others.’ That is the measure of the legacy you leave.”