Q&A: Col. Hammons: 'I couldn't be more impressed' with airmen, their families

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE - Col. Stewart A. Hammons, the new commander of the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, sat down at a media roundtable Friday.

Some highlights from that interview:

Q: What are some of the unique things at Cannon that you might not find at most other bases?

Hammons: When you actually talk about the base itself, it looks and feels like just about any other military installation that you would go to. One of the primary differences that you'll see is the specialized airpower.

A lot of bases have C-130s, but none of them have 105mm howitzers sticking out the left-hand side of the aircraft. So that's the uniqueness that AFSOC brings that is different than any other base. It's the specialized airpower that we're required to bring to the fight as part of our national objectives.

We recognize the uniqueness of some or our weapon systems, like the CV22, which is a long-range infiltration and exfiltration platform that can do something that a lot of helicopters can't do. Nor would you want a big aircraft to be inserting those folks behind enemy lines.

It's that uniqueness that we're bringing to our (Special Operations Forces) elements because frankly as a SOF tenant we also rely on the conventional air forces for a lot of support but we also provide that specialized niche airpower necessary to conduct special force missions.

Q: What story do you think the Air Force has to tell that people might not know?

Hammons: I think the most difficult aspect of the Air Force narrative is describing how diverse we are, in jobs as well as those we are recruiting to come into the military.

We are incredibly diverse when you start looking ... Everyone thinks the Air Force is all pilots. That is actually a relatively small portion of our U.S. Air Force. We have more maintenance teams than we have pilots because they literally have to fix all the planes the pilots go out and break.

Q: What do you believe are some important characteristics for leadership?

Hammons: I'm going to quote someone who actually used to work for me. A leader needs to be humble, approachable and credible. If you have that triple combination, you have a leader that is keeping the best interests of their airmen at heart but also will uphold the required standards with a level of integrity that will never be breached.

That is what I truly do believe makes a great leader and a very highly successful leader.

Q: First impressions as the new wing commander?

Hammons: The most important aspect of change of command is that you have a new leader that comes in with another set of eyes.

This base is one of the most amazing bases I've ever seen, and there's always that concern that when a new wing commander comes in you're going to have these massive reorganizations and changes to an installation.

That's not going to occur because this base is literally firing on all cylinders - all the way from the airmen doing their jobs to their spouses and their dependents and family. They are very mission-focused and very focused on what we need to do as a wing.

I couldn't be more impressed with them.

- Compiled by Staff Writer David Grieder