New commander sees Airmen as top priority Published July 5, 2006 By Senior Airman Stacia Zachary Staff writer POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- As Bob Dylan once wrote, "The times, they are a changin'." Those words ring true as more than 10 different commanders hand over their guidons to new leadership this summer. Col. Pat Savoy took command of the 43rd Mission Support Group from Col. Eric Wilbur June 22 and said he feels fortunate to be the commander of such a winning group of Airmen. Colonel Wilbur will leave Pope and the 43rd MSG for the vice commander position at the 37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB, Texas. He'll oversee the molding of civilians into Airmen at Basic Military Training. "Because of my experiences here with young Airmen, I have a good idea of what we need to be preparing them for," said Colonel Wilbur. "Airmen are smarter and more prepared for the type of roles we need them to step into. They are more technologically versatile and are leading us into becoming a more self-sustaining Air Force." The colonel's first order of business is to add two weeks on to BMT for the sole purpose of preparing future Airmen for deployments. This training will be tacked onto the end of the now 6-week course and will provide a war-game field exercise. He also hopes to better assert the concept of having a wingman. "My goal is to have all Airmen trained and ready to deploy before they arrive at their first duty station," he said. "I want all the boxes checked off by the time they hit their installations. This is just one way we can make each Airman more of an asset instead of putting the burden of training them up on the gaining base. BMT is meant to train and prepare and we'll make sure they are." Pope helped the colonel prepare for this new assignment by allowing him to work with the Airmen in his group and to see their training and other capabilities they can bring to the mix. Although Colonel Wilbur will leave North Carolina, he will not be completely removed from the happenings at Pope. "The Combat Control School belongs to Air Education and Training Command and military training," he said, "So, in way, I will have the privilege of overseeing their growth and achievements as well." Returning from Naval Station Rota, Spain, Colonel Savoy said he is prepared to work hand-in-hand with Fort Bragg. "To quote General Douglas MacArthur, ‘leaders must have the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions and have the compassion to listen to the needs of others,'" he said. Colonel Savoy hopes to set the overarching goals and expectations for the 43rd MSG and then remove the obstacles preventing people from achieving the mark. "My vision is clear. We need to embrace change and become agents for the future as we transform into a leaner Air Force." He said his top three priorities will be people, mission and community. "If you take care of the people, the mission will be successful 99.5 percent of the time," he said. "By supporting and giving back to the community, we will have the key for building camaraderie and teamwork among the military and civilians." Forming bonds with joint service agencies and fostering good relations with the local community will be one of his main concerns. In working jointly with the Navy at his last assignment to achieve mission success, the commander understands the need to be prepared to carry out any mission at any moment — a cornerstone to conducting affairs in Air Mobility Command. "Bottom line, I learned that combat support capability is critical to the success of the mission, which at present is the Global War on Terror," said Colonel Savoy. "We won't deploy one troop or launch one aircraft without the mission support warriors that make it happen."