Commentary: 7th AF Command Chief reflects on 30-year career, future of Air Force Published June 5, 2014 By Command Chief Master Sgt. Scott Delveau 7th Air Force Command Chief Master Sergeant OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- As my retirement day looms in the near future, I cannot help but to reflect on the last 30 years and the remarkable and unpredictable events I've been a part of. I distinctly remember the day when I enlisted in the Air Force. It was the day before my 18th birthday and my parents had to sign the contract. I sensed they were happy I was going into the Air Force, whether it was because it meant another one of the seven children were leaving the nest, or if they were genuinely proud I was going to serve my country. They, like me, thought I'd serve my four years and then go back to Iowa. It didn't quite work out that way. In 1983, the military was not nearly as respected as it is today. It was about a decade after the end of the Vietnam War, a very unpopular conflict; and three years after Operation Eagle Claw, the failed attempt to rescue the 53 Americans held captive in Iran. The Air Force then was about 600,000 Airmen and was primarily focused on the Cold War threat from the Soviet Union. As a young Airman, I was specifically trained to counter the Soviet threat and was sent to West Germany where we repeatedly trained in the Fulda Gap; an area we felt their thousands of tanks and their million-man army would cross the border into West Germany. On several occasions, I visited the wall that split Europe into two and was completely surprised in 1989 when it was torn down and the Soviet Union, as I knew it, broke apart. In 1990, while I was still in Germany, the world saw Saddam Hussein invade the country of Kuwait. We quickly changed our Cold War mindset as we loaded up our vehicles and equipment to deploy to Saudi Arabia in August for Operation Desert Shield. For about five months, we built a massive coalition led by the United States. We trained constantly in the desert heat and were told that 10-15 percent of us would not survive as we were facing the fifth largest military in the world. In January 1991, the Gulf War began and for 39 days, non-stop air and sea-launched attacks decimated the Iraqi military throughout the country. These attacks paved the way for our ground forces which, four days later, had destroyed remaining Iraqi forces, and Kuwait was liberated. This ended the ground portion of the war but began what is now nearly 24 years of continual combat deployments to the region for our Air Force. This overwhelming victory seemed to regain some respect for the armed forces by the American people. The Cold War, in Europe anyway, and Operation Desert Storm were over, and just like we have done so following wars throughout our history, we started downsizing our military. The Air Force specifically went through many years of force shaping which reduced our end strength to roughly 370,000 by 1997. At the same time we were still deploying and fighting in Eastern Europe and maintaining no-fly zones over Iraq. Like you, I remember the early morning events on Sept. 11, 2001. We all experienced the shock and anger of what was unfolding in front of us, and I knew that our Air Force would forever change. Within months, many of us deployed to countries that were once part of the Soviet Union to combat Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorist organizations. We were now facing a new type of enemy with different tactics. Our Airmen have provided interdiction, close air support and armed overwatch support continually since 9/11 and have saved countless coalition lives while destroying the enemy. During Operation Enduring Freedom and later Operation Iraqi Freedom, thousands of our Airmen also found themselves assigned to ground forces under direct and hostile fire. As an Air Force, we adapted and trained our Airmen for these more non-traditional roles and, in many cases, we were specifically sought out to provide support. There are some who like to argue there is no need for a separate Air Force. I would argue that now, more than ever in our history as a separate service, we need a strong, responsive, and technologically superior force capable of not only deterring threats to our nation, but to respond immediately and decisively. In a few short years, our Air Force is projected to be the smallest it's been since we were created as a separate service - around 309,000 Airmen. We'll need courageous, bold and innovative Airmen who understand what it means to serve. The world is unpredictable and dangerous, it takes only one trip up to the Demilitarized Zone in the Joint Security Area to realize how serious the threat is, and we have to be prepared for anything our nation asks of us. As I close out my career, I consider myself fortunate to have served here in Korea for more than three years both at Kunsan and Osan. You are all the future of our Air Force; I'm so proud to have served alongside each of you and truly hope your careers are as gratifying and memorable as mine. AIRPOWER!