Commander to seek advice from those ‘who do the job’

Gen. Roger Brady, the new commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and NATO Allied Air Component Command, said his goals for the command are simple but not without challenges: continue to work with NATO partners, find ways to work smarter, and build relations with other foreign militaries in places such as Africa.


Commander to seek advice from those ‘who do the job’
By Scott Schonauer, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, January 19, 2008

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – In his past job as the Air Force’s personnel chief, Gen. Roger Brady had his work cut out for him: He oversaw the service’s controversial plan to slash tens of thousands of airmen from the ranks, making him the Pentagon’s face of what the Air Force calls “force-shaping.”

Now, he will see what it’s like to be on the other end of those difficult personnel decisions.

As the 38-year Air Force veteran moves into his new role as the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, the self-described straight-talking general acknowledged he would see firsthand whether those were good decisions.

With the country at war, the Air Force is cutting 40,000 airmen from the service to modernize its fleet of aging aircraft. That will mean major commands such as USAFE must continue to find way ways to do the job with fewer people — a familiar theme across the service.

And when it comes to seeking advice on making those changes, Brady says the number of stripes on an airman’s sleeve matters little to him. As an officer who joined the Air Force in 1969, before many of the enlisted force were born, he said it is important to talk to airmen of all ranks and ages.


Rest of aticle at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51751