Reserve Commander visits 944th Citizen Airmen

  • Published
  • By 944th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
  • 944th Fighter Wing
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 944th Fighter Wing welcomed the commander of Air Force Reserve Command, Lt. Gen. Maryanne Miller during the January Unit Training Assembly.

Gen. Miller spent three days at Luke Air Force Base, home of the F-35 Lightening II, joining the 944th Reservists as they went through their monthly training events. The visit started with a short stop to the 944th Security Forces Squadron where she was able to meet some of the Reserve Citizen Airmen’s families who were out for a Family Day event.

“I look at all of you as our leaders,” Miller told the security forces Airmen. “This is how you need to look at yourselves and know you can make a difference.”

After the Family Day event, Miller, escorted by Col. Bryan Cook, 944 FW commander, walked around the 944th campus, meeting Citizen Airmen and spending time in their training classes.

She also visited the chaplains, the 944th Maintenance Group, 944th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, 944th Medical Squadron, and the 944th Operations Group.

During the visit, Miller took time to sit down with the wing's youngest Reservists and answered some of their questions at a luncheon on Sunday. Miller and the Reserve Citizen Airmen discussed their backgrounds personally and professionally, charitable work, aircraft, and self-improvement.

“It isn’t just me, it is all of us,” Miller said when speaking to the young group of Airmen. “None of us are in this alone. As young as all of you are, I look at you as our leaders. You can all make a difference.”

Miller also talked to the Development and Training Flight, a program for civilians actively in the Air Force Reserve recruiting process and waiting on a Basic Military Training class date. While at the D&TF, she performed an enlistment ceremony and swore in the newest member of the 944 FW.

“As you’re standing here getting ready to enter the Air Force, what I need from you is for you to be you,” said Miller. “You wouldn’t be standing here if it was not in your heart to be an Airman.”

“It takes amazing Americans to stand up and say they want to be a part of this,” she added. “This is what makes you great.”

For nearly 70 years, Reserve Citizen Airmen have been the cornerstone of the successful defense of our nation by providing combat-ready forces to meet the needs of combatant commanders.

The Air Force Reserve is an integral part of the Total Force in mission areas such as the F-35 Lightening II.