Misawa welcomes CSAF during immersion tour

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sadie Colbert
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein visited Misawa Air Base, Japan, Nov. 8 and 9, during his Pacific Air Forces immersion tour.

 

Goldfein, sworn in as the 21st CSAF in July, met face-to-face with Airmen of the 35th Fighter Wing, service members from the U.S. Navy and Army and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to gain insight on a variety of fields while also sharing information from higher headquarters on personnel issues and the Air Force mission.

 

“What I have seen here is the wing commander and the team have the focus exactly right,” Goldfein said. “I love their approach of looking at the quality of sorties and making every single one of them count. That quality is not only in the flying business, but it is across all of the squadrons here.”

 

During his tour, Goldfein took time to address the many opportunities Airmen and their civilian counterparts have here.

 

“There is already a significant joint environment at Misawa,” Goldfein said. “In many ways, I want to expand what you are doing here in terms of daily interaction among the components to the broader Air Force, and take a look at how we strengthen the relationship that we have with our joint partners.”

 

As a part of the tour, spouses received an invitation from the CSAF’s spouse, Dawn Goldfein, to talk about the importance of support and communication among family members and their active duty counterparts.

 

“[Families] are the greatest gift our nation has,” Goldfein said. “Service before self applies as much to our families as it does to those of us who serve in uniform and I want to thank all families for their incredible relationship and outreach we have with our host country.”

 

He also stressed prioritizing Air Force squadrons at bases across the Pacific Air Forces.

 

“At the squadron level is where we are fusing into Airmen the culture of what it means to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” Goldfein said. “Culturally, I want to make sure we are thinking about the squadron as the top of the organizational chart. The Chief, Secretary, and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force are all at the bottom, existing to support the squadrons.”

 

To conclude his visit during a base-wide all-call, he expressed his final thoughts for Misawa and the Airmen stationed here.

 

“We can never forget that we are guests here,” Goldfein said. “How we act is so incredibly important and what I see here in Team Misawa is that amazing outreach that neighbors do for each other. For the men and women that are serving in uniform here, I thank you for what you do.”

 

“There has never been a more important time to serve,” Goldfein added. “I couldn’t be more proud to stand and serve next to every one of you as your Chief of Staff.”

 

Misawa was one stop of many during his tour through Pacific Air Forces.