31st FW commander shares mission, vision with Airmen

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Michael O'Connor
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Since the 31st Fighter Wing moved to Aviano Air Base, Italy, from Homestead Air Force Base, Fla., in April 1994, 11 different commanders have led the wing.

Col. C.Q. Brown Jr., the wing's current commander, is no stranger to the 31st FW or in commanding a fighter wing having previously been assigned to the 31st FW at Homestead AFB back in 1988-1992 timeframe. He has held various squadron, group, wing-level command positions as well, most recently as the commander of the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan AB, South Korea, from May 2007 to May 2008.

Since taking command of the wing here June 9, 2009, Colonel Brown sat down recently with public affairs to share his vision and priorities for the wing and held a wing commander's call on July 27.

Question: How has your previous experience at various levels of command and various staff positions prepared you to command the 31st FW and what does it mean to you?

Colonel Brown: A lot of it has to do with the folks I've had the chance to work during my Air Force career. Whether it's my peers, my supervisors, or others in leadership or command positions, I kind of pick and choose the best of what they do and the things that fit my style probably the best and use those to help prepare myself to command at the next level.

The fact that I already had a chance to be a group and wing commander at other locations and work directly for the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force in my last assignment, actually make it easier to come back in and command again. Overall, it's been a multitude of events across my Air Force career that prepared me to command in the position I'm in today.

Question: Since taking command, what is your assessment of the 31st FW thus far?

Colonel Brown: Before I came to Aviano, I had the chance to meet and see a bunch of folks at the Pentagon who had all been to Aviano at one time or another in the past and they all had great things to say about it. I was actually on temporary duty here once in 1994 for a week and the Area F flightline was nothing like it is today. I've been really impressed with the professionalism of the Airmen and the way this wing takes care of our Airmen and their families.

Between the high ops tempo, getting settled in to a home in a foreign country and learning about the local culture, and later having to deploy to some places for 120, 179, and in some cases for 365 days, you quickly learn how busy, challenging, and rewarding it can be here.

The thing that probably gets me most excited about working here is watching our Airmen in action and getting a chance to go out and shake hands and meet folks and talk to them. I can sit in my office and make decisions all day, but it's really the Airmen who do the things on a day-to-day basis that make our Air Force great.

Question: What are your priorities and expectations for the men and women of the 31st FW?

Colonel Brown: What it boils down to is three basic things I expect from everybody, including myself: execute to the best of your ability, do things right the first time, and be accountable for your actions.

Regardless of your rank, specialty, what squadron you're in, whether you're a tenant unit here or not, I expect everybody to execute to the best of their ability. That's really all I can ask--is to do their best.

I really believe people want me to do my best as a wing commander. And if I kind of did it half-way, I realize I would have an impact on a bunch of people here--uniform members as well as family members. So it's important that we all do our best, because we all contribute in some form or fashion to the mission and getting the job done and taking care of our family members.

We don't have time or resources to execute by trial-and-error. I really believe in a lot of cases that you can slow down and get there faster. Taking an extra 30 seconds to a minute to double-check something usually will save you, because if you don't, and we have an incident or an accident, a lot of people get involved that could be off doing something else. When this happens, it usually results in a process having to be repeated, delaying the mission or a service to a customer, and receiving some sort of constructive criticism you don't want to hear. It all boils down to doing it right the first time.
I really believe that if you do good work, you will get duly rewarded, and if you do shoddy work or if you get yourself in trouble, you will also be duly rewarded. It's up to you to kind of determine what kind of reward you're going to get. If you make a mistake, you need to fess up. Your credibility and the wing's credibility are on the line. If there's something we do as a wing, I'll be the first one to speak up and take the heat.

We also need to look out for each other within the wing. Take your duty as your wingman seriously. Our responsibility is to ensure folks get back safely. There's a difference between a wingman and a running buddy. The wingman is going to look to make sure you get home safely. That buddy is the one that's going to get you in just as much trouble as they're in. I'm counting on all Airmen, and especially all those first-line supervisors to help influence their personnel and educate them about the wingman concept.

Question: How do your four tenets of leadership align with your priorities and expectations?

Colonel Brown: The four tenets I have boil down to how I've operated throughout my career. It probably wasn't until I was in a command position, squadron command and above, where I actually finally codified them and narrowed it down to four points I could remember and just about spout off the top of my head.

What they are is I want to execute at a high standard, I want to be disciplined in execution, I want to pay attention-to-detail, and I want to have fun.

And when I explain those, what I look at is when I do things, both professionally and personally, I don't play for second place. Now I realize I'm not always going to get first place, but it's not going to be for a lack of trying. I look at my personal credibility and the credibility of the wing and anywhere my name is associated with it, in this case C.Q. Brown or the 31st Fighter Wing, I want us to do it to the very best of our ability and execute at a very high standard.

The disciplined execution, I really think we need to do things by the book. If there's some kind of Air Force guidance, whether it is an Air Force Instruction or technical order, or a policy letter, then we need to follow it. I'm very logical about the way I operate, so if I see something and it doesn't quite sound right or doesn't make sense, I'm willing to attack that and get it corrected. I like making those kinds of phone calls and taking on those kind of projects because it makes it easier for our Airmen to get the job done.

The attention to detail piece kind of goes back to the 'devil is in the details.' That's where too often, we forget to do one or two things, and then it causes major issues or incidents happen. I really trust but verify. Sometimes I'll ask a lot of questions, and it's not because I don't trust people, but sometimes I don't trust people. I always get worried when folks tell me, don't worry about it; it's all taken care of. That's when I tend to worry. I tend to ask questions at my level so they trickle downhill and help ensure we're all paying attention to details and that we're not letting things fall through the cracks.

Lastly, I enjoy what I do and coming to work each day. I think it's important for us to have a balance in our lives and enjoy what we do. If we don't enjoy wearing this uniform and being a part of the Air Force, whether we're a member in uniform, or a family member who is along for the ride, then at some point we have to make a decision if it's time to find something else to do and move on. For me personally, as long as I'm having fun and feel I can make a contribution, I'll stick around the Air Force for as long as I can.

Question: What's been the main staple in your life that's paved the way for your success as an Airman, husband and father?

Colonel Brown: For me personally, there are probably three things I look at: my faith, my family, and my country. When I look at those three things, the biggest for me is probably my faith--that always allows me to move forward.

Next is my family. A lot of our success as a family comes from communicating with one another. As difficult as it may be, I guarantee my wife and I don't always see eye-to-eye on everything, but the communication we have allows us to be able to do all the things we do.

I'm a military brat, my wife's a military brat, and we know what it takes to do this business and be a part of the Air Force and some of the challenges that arise. We've gotten to go, see and do a lot of things, and travel to a lot of places. So part of that is the opportunity for my family to go and do things. And I think that's makes them better, and probably made me better as an adult.

Question: As the operations tempo of the Air Force being what it is, what words of advice do you for today's Airmen serving with families?

Colonel Brown: Communicate with your family members as to what the job entails and when you're going to be available and not be available. As they follow you during your career, it's important to ask what their aspirations are and take that into consideration, because at some point, your family may decide there are some things they'd rather do versus staying with the Air Force.

I think the Air Force is a great family. I tell the Airmen at Right Start each week that I haven't had a bad assignment and that was partly do to the people. Some locations weren't as good as others, but it's the people you get a chance to serve with and get a chance to know that make each assignment great. And to me, that's the benefit of being a part of this wing and the Air Force.