354th FW/CC: "Thank you, Iceman Team!"

  • Published
  • By Brig. Gen. Mark Graper
  • 354th Fighter Wing commander
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Icemen: Thank you for a job well done on the Presidential visit earlier this week. Hosting a Presidential troop event and having Air Force One stop for fuel is a really big deal for Eielson--it involved a lot of work, and you did great.

Preparation for a Presidential visit is extensive. The White House advance team experts dictate requirements in many areas including security, communications, press, protocol, airfield operations, fuel for Air Force One and other logistics. No detail escapes the travel team's notice! The set up inside the Thunderdome with bleachers, stage, walkway for the Commander in Chief, sound and lighting, decorations and general clean up involved transforming a very large aircraft maintenance hanger into a Presidential venue--a huge undertaking expertly done on short notice.

Adding to the complexity of the ramp-up to the President's visit, the 354th FW hosted tanker operations for KC-10s and KC-135s tasked for Presidential travel support missions. We also recovered charter aircraft returning hundreds of Fort Wainwright soldiers from the National Training Center. Levied on top of our normal fly/fix/support duties, these "Enable the staging of forces" missions stretched our team thin--but you stepped up to the challenge admirably.

Execution of the visit went smoothly and seamlessly thanks to both the extensive preparations and our project team's agile and adaptive responses to the inevitable pop-up changes and requirements. As usual, the Icemen set a high standard of excellence. One advance team officer commented afterwards that Eielson AFB was the best of 35 stops he has worked for Air Force One.

I appreciate the large turnout at the Thunderdome. The combined team of Fort Wainwright, 168th ARW, and 354th FW warriors and their families plus some of our most supportive civic partners provided a warm and enthusiastic welcome. Your reception was honoring to the Commander in Chief and his family as well as to the heritage of the profession of arms. President Bush, the First Lady and their daughter Barbara particularly enjoyed working the rope line, meeting many of you and having their pictures taken with you and your children. Mrs. Bush specifically commented on how cute the youngsters were!

Of course, an Air Force base never shuts down--key areas must function 24/7/365 regardless of distinguished visitors--and therefore many of you remained on duty during the President's visit. You are also vital to the mission and I appreciate your service out of the limelight in order to enable both the visit and the continued functioning of our base.

As with any successful military operation this was a team effort. We will be formally recognizing those who particularly went above and beyond to accomplish this high visibility project, but please know I appreciate the night and weekend hours many of you put in to execute the task to Iceman standards.

In closing, I'll quote the President of the United States. In his remarks he alluded to our "Enable the staging of forces" mission when he said of Eielson, "There is no better place to refuel an airplane than right here." And in your words, "Ready to go ... at 50 below!"

Well done team! Thank you.