USTRANSCOM Commander thanks Air Mobility forces for successfully executing their global missions in the midst of a pandemic

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (November 4, 2020) – U.S. Army General Stephen Lyons, commander, U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), credited the command’s air component, Air Mobility Command (AMC) for successfully executing its global mission of aerial refueling, airlift, and aeromedical evacuation during a year to remember at the Airlift/Tanker Association’s Conference held Oct. 27 – 29.  

Speaking virtual at the conference on Oct. 28, Lyons highlighted AMC’s critical response to the coronavirus pandemic, including safely transporting approximately 300 COVID-positive patients around the globe, supporting the Department of State’s American citizen repatriation efforts, airlifting eight million test swabs from Italy to the United States, and delivering 700 ventilators to other nations.

“And if I get to do nothing else today please allow me to express my gratitude for all that the Mobility Air Force does for our joint force,” said Lyons. “I am your No. 1 fan, I guarantee it. I appreciate all you do.”

“When I look at the area of responsibility, when I look at our great people across the globe, when I look at the assigned forces and the authorities to operate on a global scale, it's clear that this great mobility enterprise is a strategic competitive advantage for the United States of America,” he said.

In January 2020, following Iranian missile attacks on two U.S./Iraqi military bases, 800 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, deployed within 18 hours and within days the rest of the brigade was on the ground – via AMC airlift – to Kuwait to enhance security in the region.

“First, is this immediate force of the 82nd Airborne Division you recall back in the January [2020] timeframe, in response to Iranian aggression. Now I know that inside the mobility community, you take that for granted. It's what you do,” stated Lyons. “But I have to tell you, having grown up in the 82nd Airborne Division and having heard the echoes back from the Secretary of Defense… how impressed the senior leadership was at what you do so routinely.”

Lyons also shared how AMC responded following the onset of COVID-19, to a Joint Urgent Operational Need and developed and procured the Negatively Pressurized Conex (NPC), a containment chamber to move patients with infectious diseases such as coronavirus. He remarked the NPC transitioned from a concept drawn on a napkin to reality in less than a month.  

Prior to the NPC’s implementation on July 1, 2020, when 12 COVID-positive patients were transported from the USCENTCOM area of responsibility to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, for treatment, AMC used the Transport Isolation System (TIS), another infectious disease containment unit first used six years ago during the Ebola outbreak.  The TIS’ return to duty occurred April 10, 2020, with the aeromedical evacuation of three COVID-positive U.S. government contractors from Afghanistan to Ramstein.  

“I couldn't be more proud of AMC warriors that were dusting off the Transport Isolation System, bringing that back out of the warehouse, refurbishing it and putting it into use in less than 90 days,” Lyons said. “To date 294 patients have been moved by our global patient movement system. So, my hats off to the patient movement community, to our aeromedical evacuation network for your level of innovation, your initiative, and your response to the COVID-19 crisis.”

Lyons discussed how USTRANSCOM and AMC are adjusting to the changing security environment.  

“Think about moving 80 short tons, the equivalent of a C-17 payload, anywhere on the globe in less than an hour,” said Lyons. “We should challenge ourselves to think differently about how we will project the force in the future, and how rocket cargo could be part of that.” Lyons reiterated the combatant command’s commitment in partnering with industry as they develop – within the next 5 to 10 years – a space transportation prototype that may allow the command to complement its air, sea, and land logistics operations.

“I’ve seen how fast some commercial space transportation providers are developing game-changing capabilities, and a 2021 proof of principle to deliver, perhaps, humanitarian assistance somewhere around the globe, on a rocket transport mission, is well within the realm of possibility,” Lyons told the virtual audience (Proof of principle refers to early stage trials and experiments).

As the command evolves for the future, whether it is through space or any number of initiatives in artificial intelligence or machine learning, the Joint Deployment and Distribution Enterprise must continue to enhance its decision making and its ability to protect and sustain the force, Lyons added.

Following his emphasis on the changing security environment, the general turned to what he believes will not change.

In a complex security environment, one aspect that's not changing is people, the commander said. "People are, and have always been, our No. 1 key competitive advantage that we will always need as all adaptive leaders of character, who are willing to step forward in a crisis and protect this great American experiment in democracy."

“Every one of us who wears the military cloth has a common bond,” Lyons said. "We understand teamwork, hard work and higher purpose. We understand that the characterization of success is not about us. It's not about how much we make. It's about the team. It's about serving a greater purpose."

Lyons concluded his remarks by encouraging the audience to continue following in “the shadow of giants” who have led AMC since its infancy.

“Those great leaders, they understood and you understand that in the end your legacy will not be defined by what you do on your watch,” said Lyons. “But instead, by the investment you make… so invest in those around you like your reputation depends on it, and create a climate of dignity and respect that leverages human potential. And the question we ask ourselves is, how will we set the conditions for the next generation.”

USTRANSCOM exists as a warfighting combatant command to project and sustain military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, TRANSCOM underwrites the lethality of the Joint Force, advances American interests around the globe, and provides our nation's leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.