62nd AW commander conducts first Commanders Call

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tim Chacon
  • 62nd Airlift Wing
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  Just within two months of taking command of the 62nd Airlift Wing, Col. Leonard Kosinski, 62nd AW commander conducted his first commander's call Sept. 1st, at McChord Field .

The primary reason for this commander's call was for the members of the 62nd AW to meet their new commander, understand his priorities and thought processes and to provide those members a chance to ask him questions.

"Less than 1 percent of Americans serve in the military and have taken the oath to defend the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic," said Kosinski. "That's a big deal because 99 percent of the people in the U.S. are benefiting from your service. I thank you for doing that."

According to Kosinski, the primary mission for the 62nd AW is airlift excellence and he talked about what that means to him and what it should mean to Airmen assigned here.

"Maintainers may say it's about getting the aircraft ready to go, logistics Airmen will say if you don't get the parts you need, the plane is not going to fly, the medical folks will say they are the ones taking care of the Airmen making them healthy and ready to go. It's not about any one job being more important, it's about the whole team that allows us to do our job.

"We are all support agencies doing that mission and when you hear airlift excellence, I want you to see your role, whatever it is.

Using an informal flying checklist as a template, Kosinski talked about six key areas for all McChord Airmen to focus on and referred to them as the "Six T's of success."

Those "Six T's" include teamwork, trust, talent, treasure, time management and treat [others with dignity and respect].

"One of our core values is excellence in all we do and you want to be the best pilot, best loadmaster, best medic and that's great," said Kosinski. "But that may not necessarily mean you are getting the job done because the result of our mission is based on teamwork and not just individual effort."

Kosinski continued to talk about how every Airmen's job is important and how important it is to keep the C-17's flying.

"When you look at that flight line it's not just concrete, it's a power projection platform," said Kosinski. "If the runway goes down, a hangar goes down and we don't have our facilities, missions cannot be successful. This means Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines or our international partners aren't getting the combat airlift and the humanitarian assistance they need."

Kosinski continued to talk about each one of the "Six T's" and their importance. A more in depth description can be found here. 

In closing Kosinski thanked the McChord Airmen for what they do and asked them to keep up the good work they do.

"I know our commanders, chiefs, first sergeants, frontline supervisors and Airmen are taking care of each other, and I thank you for that.

"Keep working hard, stay safe out there and take care of yourselves and each other."