Global Strike commander, senior leaders discuss “Flying and Fixing to Fight and Win” at AFA
Gen. S.L. Davis, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, participated in a panel discussion focused on “Flying and Fixing to Fight and Win” Sept. 16 at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
Also participating in the discussion were Lt. Gen. Linda S. Hurry, commander of Air Force Materiel Command; Lt. Gen. Daniel H. Tulley, commander of Air Mobility Command; and Maj. Gen. Jon A. Eberlan, Air Combat Command’s director of logistics, engineering and force protection.
During the panel, Davis emphasized that readiness remains a priority for AFGSC, linking the command’s focus on readiness to the goals Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach laid out for the service.
“Flying and fixing really is readiness,” Davis said. “Global Strike has been getting after that with the North Star Readiness Campaign. It’s been a real team effort.”
The campaign, a sweeping initiative aimed at increasing the number of mission-capable B-52 Stratofortress and B-1 Lancer aircraft, has yielded impressive results. The number of B-52s available and ready to fly has jumped nearly 40% since the start of the effort, said Davis.
In addition, mission-impacting part problems, or MICAPs, have dropped from more than 450 to approximately 160, allowing maintenance teams to shift attention from immediate emergencies to high-priority backorders and emerging failure trends.
When asked about Airmen’s ability to sustain flying and maintenance operations during conflict, panelists each highlighted their Airmen.
“The Airmen are doing fantastic,” Davis said. “When you talk about flying and fixing to fight, it is the Airmen that get that done … we’ve got a generation of Airmen who are going to come back home with combat experience that will be priceless.”
Davis mentioned that even prior to recent engagements including Operations Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury, AFGSC has been maintaining a 24/7, 365-day, no-fail nuclear mission for over 60 years, while also supporting conventional operations. Being ‘ready’ is not new to Striker Airmen; staying ready is what Global Strike is staying focused on through readiness initiatives.
Davis added that these efforts are best supported through an enterprise approach that brings together operators, maintainers, depot teams, supply personnel and logistics partners to address readiness challenges.
“We’re not doing this by asking our Airmen to do more and work harder,” Davis said. “We’re trying to help them work smarter … we’re giving them the things they need, and we’re allowing them to elevate issues and barriers to their success up to the three- and four-star levels so we can get after those.”
Discussing the effect of deployments on bomber readiness, Davis highlighted the command’s CONUS-to-CONUS missions, which often last more than 30 hours for B-1, B-2 and B-52 aircrews, and how that approach to employing bombers from home station helps sustain overall aircraft readiness and availability.
“[In the past] when we thought a conflict was kicking off, the first thing we’d do was start sending bombers forward—and that actually consumes our readiness,” Davis said. “When bombers are back at home station, they build readiness.”
All panelists concluded by emphasizing the need to work together to maintain and improve readiness in their fleets and throughout the force, as well as focusing on empowering Airmen and giving them the resources necessary to fly, fix, and win.
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