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Fairchild visits 153rd Airlift Wing

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jocelyn A. Ford
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
CHEYENNE, Wyo. --  Thirty members of Fairchild Air Force Base traveled to the Wyoming National Guard base in Cheyenne, Wyo. Feb. 17. Soon after arrival, each Fairchild team member was paired with a Cheyenne counterpart. The purpose of the visit was to see first-hand how another base has met and mastered the challenges presented by Total Force Integration when bringing two world-class organizations together.

There is more than one model of TFI. Cheyenne has what is called an Active Association. An active association is when the Guard unit owns the aircraft and the Active unit flies their aircraft and works with the Guard. In Cheyenne, the 153rd Airlift Wing is the Guard unit responsible for the aircraft that it shares with the active duty 30th Airlift Squadron, which belongs to the 19th Operations Group in Little Rock AFB, Ark.

Fairchild, on the other hand, has formed a Classic Association in which an Active Duty unit owns the aircraft and the Guard component uses their aircraft and works in conjunction with Active Duty. For Fairchild, then, 92nd ARW retains ownership of the KC-135R aircraft assigned to Fairchild, but these aircraft are also used by the 141st ARW.

"I think we all took away some brilliant ideas and lots of notes for us to use as we continue forward," said Chief Master Sgt. David Nordel, 92nd ARW command chief.

Guard and active duty members alike at Cheyenne had one central belief - leadership makes the difference. Colonel Thomas agrees with the quote that was used time and time again, stating, "if the leaders want it to work, it can work."