AETC commander returns to Sheppard

  • Published
  • By Capt. Brittany Martin
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AFB, Texas --  Gen. Edward Rice Jr., commander of Air Education and Training Command, and Chief Master Sgt. James Cody, AETC Command Chief Master Sergeant, will visit Sheppard Air Force Base next week.

The general visited Sheppard in March for the AETC Senior Leaders' Conference where Sheppard showcased propulsion training, electrical and plumbing booths and the 80th Flying Training Wing flight simulator facility.

The upcoming visit will focus on aspects of Sheppard's mission General Rice did not have a chance to experience last spring. Stops will include nuclear training, the Aircraft Maintenance Officer Course simulators, the new Explosive Ordinance Disposal range, the 982nd Training Group's Fused Deposition Modelers and the 80th Flying Training Wing's maintenance hangars and new operations building.

The visit will also include discussions on efficiency in mission execution, a timely topic given the current budget constraints facing the U.S. military.

"We will be under budget constraints for the foreseeable future, and it doesn't just apply to the military," the general said recently during an All Call at Fort Sam Houston. "We can and must be more efficient in the things we do."

Both Mrs. Teresa Rice and Mrs. Athena Cody will accompany the AETC leaders on the tour. Their itinerary will focus on the services available to Sheppard's Airmen and their families.

As home of AETC's largest technical training wing and the world's only internationally manned and managed pilot training program, the base is a key component to the commander's goal of training the Air Force's future leaders.

"The breadth of our responsibility to recruit Airmen as well as to educate and train Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and our international partners cannot be truly appreciated until you have witnessed our team in action," General Rice wrote in a recent commentary.

"I am certain of one thing...the confidence I have in the abilities that each of you brings and the key role you have in the development of future generations of warrior leaders," he said.