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USAFWC/CC visits wing, meets enlisted

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Samuel King Jr.
  • 53d Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  After taking command of the USAFWC Oct. 6, Maj. Gen. Mike Worden answers questions from 53d Wing enlisted members Thursday afternoon at the enlisted club during his visit to Eglin. Topics discussed at lunch were PT gear, fitness, Afghanistan, training, and force-shaping. 

While in the area, the general visited Hurlburt Field and Tyndall AFB to meet the Airmen and see how well the 53d operated under what he calls the three "Is" of Innovate, Integrate and Incorporate. "We need better integration between all the weapons systems," he said. "We have the charge to integrate all tools, techniques, tactics and procedures of warfighting that exploit the vertical dimension. They have to be developed, tested, evaluated and trained, polished up, practiced and rehearsed so there is noticeable improvement in capability in the next two years. 

"Incorporate means we learn the lessons. We don't just keep observing the same lessons everytime. We need to rapidly incorporate the best practices and spread them throughout the Air Force," he said. 

The general noted that Air Force senior leaders have said, "Where the Warfare Center goes is where the Air Force goes." 

"We are being challenged to set the standards, be the experts, demonstrate best practices and set the example for the rest of the Air Force," General Worden said. "The Warfare Center is in service to the warfighters, so that's how I see the 53d fitting in. 
"It's a critical role of test - taking new technologies and testing them, developing new tactics and handing them off to the schoolhouses to train with the most current, relevant, and future tactics, techniques and procedures," he said. 

As far as his original question about the 53d, General Worden said the wing answered it easily by clearly demonstrating the three "Is." 

"I came expecting to find some areas of improvement, but I saw that the 53d is well underway," he said. "The 53d is one of the gems of the USAFWC."