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12th AF commander visits Dyess

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Peter Thompson
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The commander of 12th Air Force visited here Feb. 13-14 to oversee operations and preside over a change of command ceremony.

Lt. Gen. Tod Wolters toured several of the bases facilities, hosted an all call and met with Team Dyess Airmen during his visit.

As the 12th AF commander, Wolters is responsible for ensuring the readiness of 10 active duty wings including the 7th Bomb Wing and one direct reporting unit for contingency operations. He also oversees 17 gained Air Force Reserve Component units totaling more than 800 aircraft and 65,000 Airmen.

During his time here, Wolters spoke with Airmen who received awards from Air Combat Command and 12th AF, in addition to other outstanding Airmen at individual units he visited. His commander's call focused on issues currently impacting the entire Air Force to include Force Management, sexual assault and suicide prevention.

Additionally, he received briefs from various units across the wing on the accomplishments Dyess has achieved during the last two years, including the 7th BW close-out flying hour program, the 9th Bomb Squadron surge in preparation for a deployment, the Integrated Battle Station system upgrades and the integration of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile with the B-1.

With almost 5,000 flying hours across a multitude of aircraft, Wolters acknowledged the significance of the B-1B Lancer in previous, current and future overseas contingencies.

"For two consecutive years, the B-1 community here delivered the most decisive change in the war in Afghanistan," Wolters said. "In Operation Enduring Freedom, for the two major combat rotations this community served in Afghanistan, they delivered over 900 combat sorties and neutralized 600 targets. Those 600 neutralized targets equated to thousands and thousands of lives saved by this community."

Before Wolters departed, he expressed how impressed he was with how far Dyess has come in the last two years and how he wanted the base to continue leading from the front by being an exemplary unit.

"Many thought this Bomb Wing couldn't get any better, but this base set records in combat that haven't been matched and probably never will be matched," Wolters said. "You will continue to do great things for our United States Air Force."