By FORCM James Tocorzic, COMNAVAIRPAC
Team Naval Aviation,
Force Tocorzic here. I just wanted to take a minute to tell you about the great Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE) CMC/SEL Symposium we held at NAS North Island last week. It was great to see 130 of your CMCs and SELs from around the NAE. The event is always a great way to get our senior enlisted leadership on the same page sharing best practices, and focusing on warfighting, our Sailors, and the readiness of both. This year we added to the Symposium by adding CMC/SEL spouses to the symposium, as Abby and I welcomed 55 spouses from Wing and Squadron CMCs to attend.
The paradigm of operational deployments is shifting in this era of great power competition. You need look no further than the USS HARRY S TRUMAN deployment in the North Sea to see that. TRUMAN returned home after three months, then went back out again, and to an area we haven’t sailed in decades. Dynamic Force Employment (DFE) and the changes in when, where and how often we deploy are things that all Naval Aviation leadership need to be thinking about from a communication standpoint. We need to educate our Sailors on these topics to preserve OPSEC and manage expectations.
Just as important is who is holding down the fort when our CVNs and expeditionary squadrons deploy. Senior spouses will be an important conduit to our spouses who are new to the Navy. That’s why we felt it important to bring these spouses into the Symposium to arm them with more information and training to help them succeed in their role.
Warfighting was a key focus of the event, and we were honored to have MCPON Russell Smith, and the Fleet Master Chiefs for PACFLT, USFF, NAVEUR/NAVAF and MPT&E all gave insightful thoughts and training to the group. Additionally, CNAF N45 unveiled a new Maintainer’s Creed, which is coming to your squadrons soon. Each maintainer is at the front lines of this critical effort, and the creed is yet another tool we can use to build ownership and keep our focus laser-sharp on protecting our people and our aircraft.
One of the highlights of the event was when FORCM Jamie Herdel of Naval Expeditionary Combat Command shared a story with the assembled aviation khakis. Force Herdel spoke about a time he visited NAS Oceana to speak to a group of airmen and junior petty officers about leadership. He asked who in the group had the most thankless, or toughest job. One by one, the plane captains, airframers and mechanics sounded off about how difficult their jobs were and how they didn’t get any credit.
Force Herdel then shared his perspective regarding the situation faced by many U.S. service members when operating on the ground in Afghanistan, Iraq, or Syria. He emphasized how important the F/A – 18 Super Hornet is to these forces who conduct combat operations against a dedicated enemy.
The aircraft not only provides “lethal actions” against the enemy targets, but saves U.S. lives when an overwhelming enemy has our people surrounded. On the ground, our forces depend on an immediate response to requests for Naval Aviation’s close air support to keep the enemy at bay. When those requests are made, it’s because the mission and the force are in jeopardy. If aircraft are down for maintenance, our forces may not receive the close air support they need to fight and win – this is a matter of life or death.
Risk assessments are conducted as part of all planning for ground missions. During that planning, we ask, “if we have enemy contact, is air support available?” Meeting this criterion is often one of the most important factors in mitigating the risks of the mission.
Force Herdel explained that he was absolutely certain that many of the men and women in the audience at NAS Oceana that day were personally responsible for saving U.S. lives on the battlefield. He said, “THAT is what you support. No matter how trivial and meaningless you might think your job is at times, I can say with absolute certainty we couldn’t effectively fight and win on the ground without each and every one of you.”
It was a powerful reminder to the assembled Naval Aviation senior leadership of who we are and what our job is every day. Every single day, all around the world and here at home, Naval Aviation is taking the fight to our nation’s enemies, saving lives and making a difference. It is sometimes easy to forget that. We must keep our young men and women tacitly aware of their role as warfighters, in every action they take, whether it be washing an aircraft or performing a safety inspection. Keeping our aircraft flying so they can provide lethality is what we do. The next fight will be far from our shores, and it will be Naval Aviation that provides the lethality required to win it. It is an honor to be your Force Master Chief, and each day I provide the Air Boss with visibility on what your squadron and wing leadership relate to me. We Fly, We Fight, We Lead, We Win in Combat!
FORCM(AW/SW/NAC/IW) James “Smitty” Tocorzic hails from Shinnston, West Virginia. A former P-3 Orion flight engineer, he is the Force Master Chief for Commander, Naval Air Forces. He is an unswervingly loyal fan of the West Virginia Mountaineers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and all Pittsburgh sports teams.