1 00:00:02,579 --> 00:00:05,539 What does Team 6 mean to me ? It is , 2 00:00:05,659 --> 00:00:08,380 it is the absolute honor and privilege 3 00:00:08,380 --> 00:00:11,039 of my life to be a part of this team . 4 00:00:11,500 --> 00:00:13,333 What it means to me , it's about 5 00:00:13,333 --> 00:00:15,500 mission . It's about airmen , and it's 6 00:00:15,500 --> 00:00:17,389 about taking care of the family . 7 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,010 Hey , good morning , Team 6 . I have 8 00:00:23,010 --> 00:00:26,540 with me Colonel Ely and Colonel Askew . 9 00:00:26,799 --> 00:00:28,910 Good Morning , Chief . Good morning , 10 00:00:28,910 --> 00:00:30,966 sir . How are you ? I'm doing well . 11 00:00:30,966 --> 00:00:33,299 I'm doing well . How you doing , Keenan ? 12 00:00:33,299 --> 00:00:32,919 I'm doing great . Good . Well , since 13 00:00:32,919 --> 00:00:34,840 we have a new deputy and a new 14 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:36,919 commander , uh , I thought we'd ask 15 00:00:36,919 --> 00:00:39,400 some questions today to see how you 16 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,590 guys are gonna get to know your wing . 17 00:00:41,959 --> 00:00:44,292 Great . Alright , let's do it . Love it . 18 00:00:44,292 --> 00:00:46,580 All right , first question . What are 19 00:00:46,580 --> 00:00:48,959 you most excited about as you take the 20 00:00:48,959 --> 00:00:51,689 guide on here at McDill before I came 21 00:00:51,689 --> 00:00:54,380 here , I consulted a lot of different 22 00:00:54,380 --> 00:00:56,491 previous leaders that had been a part 23 00:00:56,491 --> 00:00:59,020 of MacDill , and the resounding 24 00:00:59,020 --> 00:01:01,131 response that I got from them was the 25 00:01:01,131 --> 00:01:03,700 community . The community and the 26 00:01:03,700 --> 00:01:06,349 family environment that exists here is 27 00:01:06,349 --> 00:01:09,660 absolutely second to none . And then 28 00:01:09,660 --> 00:01:11,882 the other thing also is the mission . I 29 00:01:11,882 --> 00:01:14,519 mean this is an awesome mission . Uh , 30 00:01:14,540 --> 00:01:17,459 projecting global mobility around the 31 00:01:17,459 --> 00:01:20,300 world all the time and so we're really 32 00:01:20,300 --> 00:01:22,467 excited to be a part of it and enjoyed 33 00:01:22,467 --> 00:01:24,522 you and , and Keaton and the rest of 34 00:01:24,522 --> 00:01:26,578 the commanders . So no , I agree the 35 00:01:26,578 --> 00:01:28,800 community here is fantastic both on and 36 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,078 off base . Thank you , sir . All right , 37 00:01:31,078 --> 00:01:33,189 next question . What motivated you to 38 00:01:33,189 --> 00:01:35,300 join the Air Force ? And what is your 39 00:01:35,300 --> 00:01:37,470 favorite Air Force memory ? I was born 40 00:01:37,470 --> 00:01:39,510 and raised in a small , uh , family 41 00:01:39,510 --> 00:01:41,989 farm in West Texas . Uh , wanted to go 42 00:01:41,989 --> 00:01:44,100 to Texas A&M University and be in the 43 00:01:44,100 --> 00:01:46,660 Corps cadets , but did not intend on 44 00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:48,938 joining the military after that . Then , 45 00:01:48,938 --> 00:01:51,160 uh , my sophomore year in the Corps , I 46 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:53,410 was offered a , a scholarship . 9/11 47 00:01:53,410 --> 00:01:56,169 was fresh on my mind . And it's really 48 00:01:56,169 --> 00:01:59,370 felt a calling to to serve and to give 49 00:01:59,370 --> 00:02:01,537 back to this nation . Uh , I thought I 50 00:02:01,537 --> 00:02:03,870 would just join for 4 years and get out . 51 00:02:03,870 --> 00:02:05,703 I thought maybe be a maintenance 52 00:02:05,703 --> 00:02:07,703 officer . I'd worked on tractors my 53 00:02:07,703 --> 00:02:09,981 whole life and then lo and behold , uh , 54 00:02:09,981 --> 00:02:12,148 20 years later , I can't imagine doing 55 00:02:12,148 --> 00:02:14,314 anything else . The best memory I have 56 00:02:14,314 --> 00:02:16,592 of my first aircraft commander mission . 57 00:02:16,910 --> 00:02:19,399 Uh , at Charleston , it was an 11 day 58 00:02:19,399 --> 00:02:21,566 trip around the world . Just the , the 59 00:02:21,566 --> 00:02:23,788 sense of mission accomplishment after , 60 00:02:23,949 --> 00:02:25,893 uh , taking a crew on the road and 61 00:02:25,893 --> 00:02:28,060 successfully accomplishing a mission . 62 00:02:28,060 --> 00:02:30,005 Uh , I'll , I'll never forget that 63 00:02:30,005 --> 00:02:32,227 feeling . That was an amazing , amazing 64 00:02:32,227 --> 00:02:34,505 memory . You know , when I think about , 65 00:02:34,505 --> 00:02:36,616 about memories , my first memories of 66 00:02:36,616 --> 00:02:38,838 the Air Force were before I even joined 67 00:02:38,838 --> 00:02:41,389 the Air Force , uh , 3 years . walking 68 00:02:41,389 --> 00:02:44,369 on the back of a C-130 at an air show , 69 00:02:44,669 --> 00:02:47,910 seeing these professionals and hearing 70 00:02:47,910 --> 00:02:50,077 them talk about their mission and what 71 00:02:50,077 --> 00:02:52,369 they do , I knew I wanted to do that . 72 00:02:53,389 --> 00:02:55,789 Serving has always been in my DNA . I 73 00:02:55,789 --> 00:02:57,789 came in with the idea of serving 74 00:02:58,350 --> 00:03:01,550 because of the mission , not truly 75 00:03:01,550 --> 00:03:03,828 understanding that the reason that I'm . 76 00:03:03,899 --> 00:03:07,419 Here today is because we all share the 77 00:03:07,419 --> 00:03:09,660 same morals and values which bond us 78 00:03:09,660 --> 00:03:11,660 together in a relationship that you 79 00:03:11,660 --> 00:03:13,827 just don't get anywhere else . Chief , 80 00:03:13,827 --> 00:03:16,049 can I ask you a question ? Absolutely . 81 00:03:16,049 --> 00:03:18,049 Uh , why , why are you still in the 82 00:03:18,049 --> 00:03:19,938 military ? What , what , what has 83 00:03:19,938 --> 00:03:22,160 driven you to stay in for what , almost 84 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,216 30 years ? Well , similar to Colonel 85 00:03:24,216 --> 00:03:26,160 Askew , I joined doing 4 years and 86 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,080 getting out , uh , and then I got a job 87 00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:31,779 as a boom operator . Flying around the 88 00:03:31,779 --> 00:03:34,001 world doing pretty cool things , ever , 89 00:03:34,899 --> 00:03:37,066 right ? Like I was climbing Mount Fuji 90 00:03:37,066 --> 00:03:40,300 at 19 years old , uh , and then it 91 00:03:40,300 --> 00:03:43,339 became fun , so I stuck around and then 92 00:03:43,339 --> 00:03:46,410 my son was sick . He was born and all 93 00:03:46,410 --> 00:03:48,521 the things of the Air Force that came 94 00:03:48,521 --> 00:03:51,330 to bear to help my family , uh . Has 95 00:03:51,330 --> 00:03:53,690 been spectacular . So I try to pay that 96 00:03:53,690 --> 00:03:56,169 back every day since , um , there's no 97 00:03:56,169 --> 00:03:58,225 doubt you have , Chief . I doubt you 98 00:03:58,225 --> 00:04:00,058 have . Thank you both for , uh , 99 00:04:00,058 --> 00:04:02,280 sharing a little bit about yourselves . 100 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,447 I'm super excited to be a part of this 101 00:04:04,447 --> 00:04:07,509 team , Team 6 . I love you all to death . 102 00:04:07,759 --> 00:04:10,330 Uh , we are one team , one fight , and 103 00:04:10,330 --> 00:04:12,441 so I look forward to hearing from you 104 00:04:12,441 --> 00:04:14,229 and learn about what you do 105 00:04:14,809 --> 00:04:17,031 individually to support this collective 106 00:04:17,031 --> 00:04:19,198 mission . So Chief , I look forward to 107 00:04:19,198 --> 00:04:21,420 the next couple of years with you and , 108 00:04:21,420 --> 00:04:23,642 and . Uh , I appreciate your mentorship 109 00:04:23,642 --> 00:04:25,890 already , Keaton . I , I look forward 110 00:04:25,890 --> 00:04:27,890 to it . I look forward to it . It's 111 00:04:27,890 --> 00:04:30,001 gonna be a lot of fun . It's gonna be 112 00:04:30,001 --> 00:04:29,709 great . Thanks team .