Editor’s note: 314th Airlift Wing Commander Col. Wayne Schatz, talked about his vision, goals and plans for the wing in an interview May 21 with Tech. Sgt. Arlo Taylor, 314th Airlift Wing Public Affairs. An edited transcript follows:
Mission Questions:
1. Knowing your C-130 history, this assignment is a homecoming of sorts for you. What are you most excited about as you take command for the 314th Airlift Wing?
“I’m most excited about being with the great people of Team Little Rock. There’s a great heritage here of excellence in our mission both training and deploying for almost every contingency and every humanitarian operation our country has ever participated in. Being back here at the ‘Home of the Herk’ with the great Airmen, leadership and relationship with the local community is special.
Kim and I are tickled to be here. We thought we had won the lottery when we found out we were coming back to Team Little Rock. We’re excited.”
2. How much has Little Rock changed since you left in 1999?
“I wouldn’t say it has changed a lot. There is progress that has been made. Some of the facilities have improved with a lot of the projects we have had. In general the support the community has been constant. Some of the places you drive in Little Rock, North Little Rock and the surrounding community, I have seen some things have changed and other things have stayed the same. It’s a mixture."
3. You’re coming to Little Rock from a position where you were responsible for monitoring current operations of a Combatant Command. How do you make the transition from a mission directly focused on war efforts to one that is so training oriented?
“It’s really not a difficult transition. When I was at U.S. Transportation Command, a lot of the issues I was working with day-to-day were airlift in the support of the Global War on Terrorism. The men and women of Team Little Rock were involved in that everyday. We had our teammates from the 463rd AG who are pretty much continually deployed to Iraq and Kuwait in direct support of the war. I worked a lot of the issues that dealt with that part of the mission every day.
In order to deliver that kind of capability for the nation, you have to have a good training pipeline for all of the airmen aircrews maintainers and support personnel that enable that kind of combat airlift support for the warfighter. So to me, it’s been a fairly easy transition. I will keep that kind of orientation.
What we have here is a two-fold mission one, train our future airlifters in the C-130 and C-21, but the next part of our mission is to prepare to deploy and support our expeditionary Airmen both in our wing and our partners in the 463rd to go off and fight and win our nation’s wars. We cannot do that training mission without the great partnership we have with the Arkansas Air National Guard and the 189th AW.
We have a heritage in the C-130 that brings all the different diverse members of our team together. We have the weapons school, the 189th AW that primarily does the instructor training, the 314th AW that does all the basic qualification training for the different models of C-130s and the 463rd that actually goes and operates in a wartime environment. It all ties together nicely.
4. Are there any areas of improvements you have already identified at Little Rock? If so, what is your plan of attack?
I’m still looking at programs we have here carefully. Brig. Gen. Kip and Sue Self left a great legacy and team here. I think the wing and installation are in overall very good shape.
One of my main focuses is with the high operations tempo here for both training and deployment I want to ensure we have the best possible programs in place to provide our Airmen and their families the support and assistance necessary to keep them able to sustain the pace of the Global War on Terror.
You will see my main focus areas ensuring we have the right programs, facilities and activities in place that are able to give our Airmen the tools they need to stay focused on the fight, and provide the support necessary so they can deal with the stresses involved in our current environment
5. Briefly, what are your leadership philosophies?
“In general I believe in a collegial style of leadership. I will work closely with group commander in the 314th.AW. I like to let them be commanders and work the issues in their groups properly and on their own. I’ll also work close with Col. Travis Balch from the 189th AW and Col. Jeffrey Hoffer from the 463rd AG. I will do my best to provided overall vision, goals and way ahead, then work with the group commanders and squadron commanders to ensure they have the tools and resources they need to get us all working together to accomplish those goals.
I’ll be a cheerleader. I like to sit down and talk things out, get ideas, brainstorm and then go off and take action. I am an action oriented guy. If we find areas where we need to act and get things done, we won’t delay, we’ll go off and do it.
6. Is there anything you would like to add?
“My vision for Team Little Rock is for us to be the world’ premier combat airlift team. Our mission is two-fold: to train and deploy the world’s premier C-130 and C-12 airlifters to fight and win our nations wars. Those are important things to focus upon.
Our goals are pretty simple – accomplish the mission, take care our people, take care of our families, and engage with our community. If we all stay focused on those simple things an work together, we’ll continue to be success and continue to be the leading edge of operations and training from our Air Force.
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