After he assumed command of the 14th Flying Training Wing on Wednesday, Col. Barre R. Seguin took some time to answer reporters” questions about his goals the next two years.
What is your vision for your time here at Columbus Air Force Base?
My vision for Columbus is to have it be a premier training environment embraced by the local community and focused on families. Those are the three parts of my vision, if you will.
What is your philosophy for success in the Air Force?
My philosophy for success is twofold. First off, to serve those entrusted to my care and meet their needs so they can meet the needs of the mission. Secondly, to build a team. Here at Columbus, I”m looking forward to being a part of Team Blaze but also building it. When I talk about building a team, I”m talking about a much broader team than just here at Columbus Air Force Base. I”m talking about the local community, about the families that are a part of Team Blaze, about 19th Air Force in Columbus and San Antonio, about Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base. The team to me is not an inward looking team but an outward looking team that we can build toward mission accomplished.
What would you like members of the base to know about you?
First and foremost, I”m a man of faith and family. It”s been a great pleasure to be reunited with my family after a relatively long time apart — 15 months — which, even by today”s Air Force standards is quite a long deployment. I”m also a leader that will remain focused on the mission and focused on our airmen.
On your previous assignment, you were in Korea for 15 months while your family remained in Belgium. What can you tell us about your family and the joy of being together again in Columbus?
To me, I guess there”s no greater joy in life than family, and so I looked forward for a very, very long time to being reunited with Nancy and the kids. In the previous 15 months, there”s been no greater joy than the transition here to Columbus Air Force Base to be part of its family and to be our family once again.
In a number of years in the Air Force, you”ve seen a lot of changes, and there are a lot of changes ahead in terms of unmanned aircraft. How do you see yourself and Columbus still fitting into that puzzle as it changes?
Our Air Force is certainly evolving right now. Remotely piloted aircraft is a growing field and will continue in the near and distant future. Near term, and I think even long term, I think there”s always going to be a need for manned aircraft, so Columbus” mission will not go away. There”s also going to be a need for future placement of RPA training at facilities and bases. I don”t know that Columbus will be a part of that, but certainly to me it seems like it would be an ideal place to continue both manned training and unmanned training. So that would certainly be something that, given the opportunity, we would pursue as a base. But I think our mission is going to be around for many, many years to come in terms of manned aircraft.
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