By David "Buck" Buckwalter
Tucson Citizen
June 18, 2008

Tucson has always supported D-M through the incredible work of the DM 50 and Military Affairs Committee.

Recently I had the privilege of visiting Tucson and our great airmen at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

I remember driving out the Craycroft gate in March 1996, knowing I had completed my final command tour in the Air Force.

Back then, I thought we needed to ease our pace of operations lest we lose our best people. I was wrong.

Today's D-M airmen would laugh at me if I told them we were overworked.

This community already knows how much our Air Force contributes to the war on terror.

Tucson has always supported D-M through the incredible work of the DM 50 and Military Affairs Committee.

Today we have been continuously engaged for 18 years in the Gulf region - the entire lifespan of our new recruits!

D-M has half as many military and civilian workers (9,500) as it did in 1996.

The facilities look better, many having been refurbished by the airmen themselves.

But they're not crowded. Lots of folks were deployed during my visit - some for their eighth or ninth time since 2001.

I visited units on base, beginning with the 55th Electronic Combat Group. They fly the EC-130H Compass Call, a heavily modified transport aircraft designed to jam enemy air defense systems during the Cold War.

Today they support the ground fight almost exclusively, with at least three aircraft deployed at all times.

They're proud of a "testimonial" from Marine Gen. Jim Mattis: "Compass Call saved my life!"

They continue to save lives at an incredible pace. Their single bird supporting Afghanistan flew 256 missions in 200 consecutive days!

Modern electronic gear is in the back, but the airframe I walked through was 35 years old.

Next stop was the 12th Air Force, commanding air forces assigned to Central and South America.

They sometimes feel "forgotten" because Latin America really isn't that important, right? Except that about a third of our oil imports come from the region (more than the Middle East), along with more than 90 percent of our cocaine, which causes 17,000 drug deaths each year.

This unit has 800 to 1,000 people in the region at all times, building schools, clinics and most of all relationships.

At about $1 billion a year total budget, they are a bargain. It's always been more economical to prevent a war than fight one. That's what 12th AF is doing.

When I next visited the deputy commander of the 563rd Rescue Group, he told me his folks were deployed about as much as they were home (virtually everyone had that story).

Quite a few pilots have more combat flying time than peacetime hours - an impossible feat in my day.

They also boasted the oldest airplane I found on D-M (not counting "the bone yard," of course). Their 79th Rescue Squadron still flies a 1962 C-130 to maintain proficiency since they do not have enough special mission C-130s for all their requirements.

Last stop was with the 355th Wing Commander. We had something in common; he was within a month of turning over his command, and I sensed some of the same nostalgia I had felt 12 years ago.

He had the "easy" job. His assigned airplanes consisted of only A-10s (about half-again more than we had in 1996).

But as the "host wing commander," he had broad logistics and support responsibilities for all the units on the base.

His "thing" was heritage - making sure all his airmen recognize that their lives are not about just them, but are part of a seamless tradition of D-M service stretching back more than 80 years.

Somehow his message works. The 12 or so airmen just coming on duty that day, most having just returned from their A-10 squadron's 7 1/2-month deployment to Afghanistan, were upbeat and ready to work.

Less than a quarter mile away were personnel from the 162nd Air National Guard flying a live, combat Predator (unmanned aerial vehicle) halfway around the world.

By evening, I felt better just having been around these folks.

Our association works to educate the public about the critical role of our Air Force, to advocate for a strong national defense,and to support the entire Air Force family.

Those airmen certainly deserve support. We have a great Air Force, but we all better make sure we keep it that way. Those airmen, and our nation, deserve nothing less.

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. David "Buck" Buckwalter is executive vice president of the 125,000-member Air Force Association. He served 27 years in the Air Force and, in the mid-1990s, commanded the 355th Logistics Group on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

Published: 06.18.2008 (http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/opinion/88561.php)