NEVADA AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Nev. -- On Feb. 28th, 45 members from the 152nd Airlift Wing (152 AW) met for a day-long strategic planning on-site, held at our excellent Dining Facility. The purpose of this retreat was to bring together diverse thinkers, leadership and influencers to define our three-year Wing strategic plan. Our goal for the day was to determine how to lead the 152 AW to become the #1 Air National Guard (ANG) C-130 Wing by 2023.
The last part of the day we spent coming up with a new Wing motto. The intent for this motto is to have a simple graphical representation that encapsulates our mission, vision and strategic priorities.
I am extremely proud of the work that went into creating this motto, and I think it’s important that we all understand what it means. To begin with, the picture is a mosaic of High Roller Airmen performing in their various mission areas. This captures my overall approach of “People First, Mission Always.” The mosaic makes up a picture of a 152 AW C-130 dropping fire retardant during a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) mission, our primary domestic mission.
In the middle of the picture is our moniker, “High Rollers,” with an arrow underlining the words and moving forward. Many of you may not know the historical significance of how we came to be known as the “High Rollers.” As an RF-4 unit, we earned international esteem after winning multiple aerial reconnaissance competitions in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1980, an Airman Magazine article dubbed the then 152nd Reconnaissance Group the “High Rollers of Reno.” Paired with our incredible performance during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the reputation of the High Rollers was solidified. Our motto pays homage to this tradition of excellence and carries that into our current and future missions.
Beneath the High Rollers verbiage is the motto, “Livin’ High, Flyin’ Low.” “Livin’ High” refers to our enviable geographic location and high-altitude environment – the Reno-Tahoe area boasts some of the most beautiful, varied alpine landscapes in our great nation and also provides some of the best opportunities for mountain flying training. It also refers to our unit’s commitment to carry on the legacy of the High Rollers, embrace the Air Force Core Values and produce and demand Airmen of high character and high competency.
Lastly, “Flyin’ Low” firmly emphasizes our organization’s focus on primary mission execution. First, it captures the C-130’s unique ability to cover that “last tactical mile” in our federal missions to deliver critical personnel and supplies to our front-line warfighters through either delivery into austere airfields or by air drop. This often means penetrating into threat environments at low altitude. Secondly, it captures the essence of our MAFFS airborne firefighting mission visible in the graphic.
I am extremely proud of all the men and women of the 152nd Airlift Wing and I am humbled to serve as your commander. I hope you are proud of our new motto and will prominently display it in your workspaces. I look forward to continuing to roll out our strategic plan in the near future and discuss it with all of you.