Fitness on the rise; team standounts for the week Published April 21, 2011 By Col. Lenny Richoux 6th Air Mobility Wing commander MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- I'm impressed with what I've seen during the week and on Saturdays with the implementation of the Fitness Improvement Program and Superior Health Assessment Program Enterprise. The group commander and supervisor support I've seen is awesome, and I am convinced that when our next overall wing fitness analysis is done that the difference between where we were and where we'll be will be night and day. I've heard reports that some of you are reaching levels in fitness that surpass any physical fitness goal you'd ever set for yourself. Through lifestyle initiatives like this we are grooming you to be the best by giving you what it takes in terms of sustainable core fitness tools to be the best Airmen. Many of you are familiar with the Comprehensive Airman Fitness model. I want to tell you that these resiliency resources and tools are designed to provide an all-points approach to getting geared up for total physical, mental, spiritual and social fitness before the fight. These resources also provide guideposts for properly decompressing after the high operational-tempo requirement is complete. Our Airman and Family Readiness Center, the Chaplain, the Health and Wellness Center and many other agencies on the base are foundations to the pillars of CAF. CAF isn't solely a framework for individual and relational maintenance on the base, but the CAF principle of social connection is important outside the MacDill gates, too. Eighty percent of the base population lives outside the base in Tampa Bay and the outlying suburbs. We rely on community schools, churches, the YMCAs and other institutions that are included in the broad sense of community. I took a couple of days this week to show a few great folks in the Tampa Bay community our Air Force's people, assets and mission. We have a strong Air Force, and taking time with our community leaders fosters the relationships that yield tremendous benefit to us inside the gates. Outreach is very important and that social connection we practice with community outreach further reiterates the importance of social engagement highlighted in CAF. As part of the Tampa Leadership Tour our community participants saw how we grow our Airmen and how we take care of them. It doesn't stop in basic military training or technical school. They saw CAF culture at work and how it keeps us responsive to the on-going need to take care of each other. We accomplish that with the five "Cs" of caring, committing, communicating, connecting and celebrating. For the "shout-outs" I want to recognize the men and women of the 6th and 927th Maintenance Group and Mission Support Group (6th Logistics Readiness Squadron) for completing their Air Mobility Command-directed Logistics Compliance Assessment Program inspection. The inspection team visited to see how well we comply with the technical standards. Performing more than 650 inspections in less than a week, the team looked at everything from the munitions facility to the inspection dock. The two groups were rated "Excellent" for the week-long inspection. The 6th Medical Group's Staff Sgt. Jorgina Dover and Staff Sgt. Ruben James went above and beyond to give back to the local community. They coordinated with Monroe Middle School, the H.B. Plant Jr. ROTC, and the 6th Medical Support Squadron to help give Monroe Middle School a makeover in conjunction with Clean City Tampa Day. More than 80 people contributed to the efforts. The 6th Operations Group's Airman 1st Class Ronald Buchholz also went above and beyond staying a total of seven hours late on two occasions due to unplanned flying schedule changes. Additionally, he inspected four vests, three outer survival kits, four personal breathing devices, 30 nuclear flash blindness goggles and configured nine aircraft for flight within a two-week span. The 6th Civil Engineer Squadron did a great job supporting Tinker Elementary School's Arbor Day Tree Planting Ceremony earlier this week. I am proud to serve with you in the finest Air Mobility Wing on the face of the planet!