AFGSC Commander visits Dyess, emphasizes Resilience Tactical Pause
By Senior Airman Susan Roberts, 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
/ Published August 23, 2019
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Gen. Tim Ray, Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, his wife, Rhonda, and Chief Master Sgt. Charles Hoffman, Command Chief of Air Force Global Strike Command, visited Dyess Air Force Base Aug. 22 to tour various facilities and speak with Airmen and their families.
During an all-call with 7th Bomb Wing Airmen, Ray emphasized the importance of the tactical pause to address the increase in suicide rates among Airmen.
“It’s completely reasonable to take a knee sometimes, especially when there is time. Right now, we do have time,” said Ray. “The margin and the resiliency of the team will take priority now. We’ll take one step back to take two steps forward.”
The tactical pause is designed to allow Airmen, leaders and supervisors time to reflect on how to increase morale, become better wingmen to each other and build a more positive work environment.
During his visit, Ray encouraged leadership to give their Airmen time to recover and find a sustainable workflow to rebuild the resiliency of the teams.
“The next chapter of conflict will be very different. And the stakes potentially much higher,” said Ray. “It’ll take better leaders, teachers, technicians and teams to prevail.”
Ray and his wife also visited the Soul Fire Cafe, an Airmen’s ministry program they helped start along with the chaplains in 2008 while he was in command of the 7th BW. The cafe allows young Airmen to reach out and connect with others, while also providing them a place to freely socialize.
Other stops on the visit included the Dyess Memorial and museum, firearm training simulators, an aerospace ground equipment briefing and maintenance flights. Throughout the visit, Ray, Rhonda and Hoffman received briefings and held discussions with Airmen about the command and base missions. Ray also recognized several Airmen with a coin for outstanding performance in their career fields.