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Pope, other AMC civic leaders tour command with AMC leadership

  • Published
  • By Ed Drohan
  • 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  A Pope honorary commaner spent several days recently providing input about Pope and the local community to Air Mobility Command leaders. 

Johnny Dawkins, who was nominated and selected to serve on the AMC Civic Leader Group, traveled to Scott Air Force Base, Ill., Aug. 17-19, where he received briefings and participated in roundtable discussions with AMC Commander Gen. Arthur Lichte and other senior command leaders. 

According to Mark Voorhis, AMC's chief of Communication Integration/Civic Outreach, the AMC Civic Leader Group was formed so local civic leaders could provide individual advice to General Lichte and commanders at all levels about public attitude toward the command. An added benefit is the chance to increase the members' understanding about AMC so they can share that insight with other people in the community. 

Mr. Dawkins, along with civic leader group members from AMC's other 11 bases, met with General Lichte, Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott, 18th Air Force Commander and former 43rd Airlift Wing Commander; Maj. Gen. Mark Solo, 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center Commander; and Brig. Gen. S. Taco Gilbert, AMC's Director of Strategic Plans, Requirements and Programs. During the discussions, the civic leaders were asked for their opinions -- the good and the bad. 

"(General Lichte) wants to know what's going on at the bases he's responsible for," Mr. Dawkins said. "This is unprecedented that I'm aware of, for the four-star general to call community leaders from across the command to get their input. I think it's very admirable what General Lichte is doing." 

Mr. Dawkins, who is a former Fayetteville city councilman, past chairman of both the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and its Military Affairs Council, and a current Pope honorary commander, said his primary input was about the current image of the Air Force with the population at large, especially in light of the recent resignations of both the secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force chief of staff. 

"I told General Lichte that the Air Force is not very good at tooting its own horn," Mr. Dawkins said. "I said we have to find a way to position AMC in the public's viewpoint to overcome some of the issues that have come up in the last six to nine months. With the forced resignation of the chief and the secretary, in the public's mind there must be something wrong with the Air Force. Now the Air Force's new chief of staff is an airlifter and this can be a very positive thing for AMC." 

Communication was a two-way street during the conference, Mr. Dawkins said, with civic leaders coming away with a better understanding of the command as a whole. With briefings on AMC programs and operations, the TACC and a C-17 orientation flight that included an airdrop, there were a lot of eyes opened. 

"It reconfirmed in my mind the strategic importance of Pope -- this made it even clearer than it was before," Mr. Dawkins said. "It also showed me the global reach of AMC --- anywhere you are in the world, AMC can reach out and touch you. There is an AMC aircraft taking off almost every 90 seconds. AMC is responsible for more than 900 airplanes -- that's larger than two major airlines combined."

Mr. Dawkins will remain a member of the AMC Civic Leader Group for two years and will meet with the commander at least twice each year.