POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Col. James Johnson, 43rd Airlift Wing Commander, spoke with Airmen during five commander's calls Wednesday after taking command June 12. These commander's calls provided some comments on the change of command and also gave attendees information on his personal background and perspectives on some of his guiding principles. 

He began with a comment about the change of command by saying, the decision to change the leadership at the 43rd is about the Airmen at Pope. The airmen at Pope have earned a magnificent reputation around the world and will continue to do great things... this is about ensuring leadership continues for you as Pope moves into the future - and you need to know how extremely proud I am to be here with you. 

The colonel then outlined some of his guiding principles, which included a discussion about the Air Force core values. He said he believes we have to continually define the core values in a practical way with examples of how they apply every day - we should make them relevant discussions rather than something people talk about like bumper stickers. 

Colonel Johnson talked about a principle for no tolerance when it comes to anything that distracts people from successfully accomplishing the mission, like sexual harassment or discrimination. 

Families and wingman were the next topics as he highlighted the importance of connecting families to what we do. He said, "when they support what we do, it makes us do what we do better." "We need to define what it means to be a good wingman," the colonel added. We have a greater responsibility to take care of each other in ways that other professions don't necessarily share." And at the end of the day, the wingmen principle is about preserving combat power and enabling us to safely accomplish the mission. 

He concluded by saying "My job is to be the best wing commander you have ever had. That doesn't mean you'll always be happy with my decisions, but it means I'll always have your best interest and the best interest of the Air Force at heart."
After laying out some of the principles that guide him, he took some questions from the crowd-covering subjects to include BRAC, DUI goal days, wing runs and Armistead Gate. Answers to the questions asked during this commander's call will be posted on the EIM site.