General McNabb visits Pope Published Feb. 2, 2007 By Staff Sgt. Cassandra Locke Editor POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- As the Air Force reaches 60 years of service, Air Mobility Command's senior officer outlined what he is most proud of when it comes to Pope and the contributions of AMC. "We're the true crown jewel of our nation's security, we can take the fight anywhere and provide humanitarian assistance when asked, and I'm very proud of how well we do that," said Gen. Duncan J. McNabb, commander of AMC. General McNabb visited Pope to thank the Airmen for their contributions to the global war on terrorism. The general said since 9/11, AMC has been engaged in the longest sustained air mobility campaign in our history, and said Airmen regularly operate in dangerous and austere environments. During the general's visit, he presented Tech. Sgt. Shannon McBee, 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, the 2006 Airlift Tanker Association's Specialized Mission Award for his work. Sergeant McBee flew 28 missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and provided critical care to more than 300 wounded people. General McNabb also talked about how busy AMC units are today. "Averaging 900 sorties a day, our operations tempo equates to a departure every two minutes, every day. Our airlifters are proving especially useful in saving lives and circumventing improvised explosive devices by moving more cargo by air," said General McNabb. The general said he is very impressed with Pope's progress with the Air Force's Smart Operations 21 program and the enthusiasm and hard work Pope's Airmen generate for AMC. "Everyone depends on us and we have to learn to do more with what we have. Pope and AMC are doing an outstanding job at looking for better ways of doing things."