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Voicing their concerns

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Collier
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
The 8th Fighter Wing enlisted corps got a chance to voice their concerns to the commander Monday during an enlisted call at the theater and fitness center.

Col. Jeff 'Wolf' Lofgren, 8th FW commander, requested the enlisted force for the roughly one-hour long sessions at each location, broken down between the senior NCO, NCO and Airman ranks. The 'town hall' format, in which members ask questions of the commander, was met with very curious Airmen with many concerns on their mind.

During the call, several members from each rank addressed training chemical gear shortages, dormitory construction at Kunsan and general, everyday quality-of-life concerns from the dining facility to dormitory living conditions. Master Sgt. Thomas Scott, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron assistant chief of operations, said he felt wing leadership was looking into issues effecting Kunsan and was trying to get them corrected.

"This is why they have the town hall meeting so they can address quality of life issues," Sgt. Scott said. "The Wolf explained a lot and it's good to get answers to some of these questions."

And Airmen weighed in on the issues plaguing Kunsan as well. From re-activating the now-defunct Patriot Express to Airmen PCSing after April's Operational Readiness Inspection, Airmen wanted to be in the know.

"I think the average Airman knows the answers to a lot of those questions," pointed out Senior Airman Stephen Harris, 8th Maintenance Squadron avionics technician. "Some questions that are asked are because the Airmen aren't informed by their supervisors. A town hall might not even need to be done if a flight supervisor took better care of their people."

And Airman Harris, who recently returned from midtour, said he absolutely felt Kunsan leadership was looking out for Airmen.

"Why would they have a town hall meeting if they didn't want to personally talk to the Airmen? It only makes sense they want to help."