ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. –
When you hear you're having a commander's call, what comes to mind? Some might think of the loud chants each squadron shouts. Others might hope they get there early enough to snag a nice seat in the back, and, let's be honest, some just hope to make it through without getting caught with their eyes closed or their cell phone going off. The point is that no matter if you've been in the Air Force for a few years or a few decades, commander's calls are, for the most part, always the same.
The Airmen from the 11th Wing may now think a little differently after attending the 11 WG commander's call on the flightline here Nov. 2, led by Col. Ken Rizer, 11 WG/Joint Base Andrews commander and Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Brinkley, 11 WG/ Joint Base Andrews command chief.
Hundreds of 11 WG Airmen packed in shoulder-to-shoulder on four outdoor bleachers at the far north end of the Andrews flightline facing formations of the Air Force Band to the right and the Honor Guard to the left. In the center was a stage set up with drums, electric guitars and microphones. There was only one thing missing: where were the commander and command chief?
Shortly after everyone was settled in their seats, a 1st Helicopter Squadron UH-1N Huey landed on the flightline approximately 50 yards from the stage. Out sprung an 11th Security Forces Squadron emergency services team in a diamond formation escorting Colonel Rizer and Chief Brinkley to the staging area. The EST unit was just one of the units on hand to showcase its mission ensuring 360 degree security around its "protectees."
"Colonel Rizer and I get to see everything the 11 WG does from the top down," said Chief Brinkley. "But some of you have not had the opportunity and privilege to see some of the things we witness on a daily basis. So today we are going to showcase you to yourselves. This will be a commander's call like you've never seen before."
Following performances by the Air Force Band and the Honor Guard, several 11 WG Airmen and civilians were highlighted to feature the important missions they perform every day across the wing. As each person and their mission was introduced the crowd cheered them on as they ran through an Honor Guard cordon, greeted at the end by Colonel Rizer and Chief Brinkley.
The crowd was then treated to performances by the Air Force Band's Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the Air Force, the Singing Sergeants, the official chorus of the Air Force, and Max Impact, an Air Force performing unit that blends different styles of music to both entertain and inspire its listeners.
The Honor Guard drill team followed the musical performances and kept the crowd on the edge of their seats with the high level of precision and timing they used to execute each of their maneuvers. Each drill team member is hand selected and undergoes nearly 1000 hours of grueling training and countless hours of practice to ensure they are the best of the best.
The final performance belonged to the 1 HS, which simulated an alert scramble for the crowd. At the sound of the siren, four flight teams raced from the alert facility into four UH-1N Hueys and took off in a matter of minutes, exemplifying their vigilance and quick response capabilities to the crowd.
The 11 WG principles - vigilance, precision and global impact were evident in every aspect of the commander's call and Colonel Rizer stressed that it's not just the units on display that exemplify those traits. Whether it is the civil engineers vigilantly taking care of the base infrastructure, Airmen at the Military Personnel Section handling thousands of records with precision or finance' global impact taking care the monetary needs of Airmen all over the world, every member plays a part in the success of the 11 WG.
"Every single one of you plays a critical role as part of the 11 WG," said Col. Rizer " What you saw today was excellence in action and that's what it means to be the 'Chief's Own.' Hopefully, you are as proud to be a part of the 11 WG as I am."