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Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Wolfe visited Scott Air Force Base on May 21, meeting with base leadership, sitting down with instructors at the CMSAF Bud Andrews Airman Leadership School, and addressing Airmen during an all-call at the Scott Community Center focused on priorities and enlisted leadership.
“The two most important things we do in the Air Force are fly and fix airplanes. If you can fix, then you can generate sorties. When you generate sorties, you build readiness, and that readiness has a deterrent value. But if that deterrence fails, we’ve got to be ready.”
Wolfe expanded on readiness to include professional development, skill-building, and financial preparedness—not just technical qualifications. He pressed for innovation as central to modernization, urging Airmen to surface new ideas and leaders to stay receptive to change. He also underscored the need to support Airmen and their families by identifying obstacles and advocating for solutions.
Those themes carried into his conversation with the Bud Andrews Airman Leadership School instructors and his remarks to the broader audience, where he emphasized the role of effective leadership at every level of the enlisted force.
“In professional military education, we’re not trying to teach you what to think,” he said during the all-call. “We’re trying to teach you how to think, to have that discernment in your leadership style, and how you interact with your fellow Airmen so you can be ultra-effective as a supervisor.”
Wolfe closed by highlighting the long-term influence of first-line supervisors on Airmen’s careers.
“I had a great first supervisor, I was super lucky,” Wolfe said. “Your job is to get ready in your leadership school to go be somebody’s first supervisor, and I hope that you’re planning on being a dang good one.”
Scott AFB, home to U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command, regularly hosts senior leaders for engagements on readiness, force development, and quality-of-life initiatives. Wolfe, the Air Force’s top enlisted leader, used the visit to reinforce those priorities and to encourage Airmen to lead with initiative and care.
