[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1669-E1670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   REMARKS OF ERIC W. BENKEN, CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT OF THE AIR FORCE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. BOB STUMP

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 9, 1998

  Mr. STUMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Chief Master 
Sergeant Eric W. Benken, who recently made some very insightful remarks 
regarding national security on August 22, 1998, at the Noncommissioned 
Officers Association 1998 Annual Awards Banquet, that I believe would 
be of interest to all the members of the House of Representatives:

          Challenging Times--Bright Future--Strength in Unity

       It's always tough to follow the Air Force Honor Guard Drill 
     Team--outstanding individuals--anytime someone says there is 
     something wrong with America's young people--I point to them 
     as an example of what's right with America. And the Air Force 
     Singing Sergeants--a magnificent group and I might add, the 
     product of successful gender integrated training--they are no 
     longer an all male chorus group like they were in the 
     beginning!
       Congressman Montgomery, sir, its great to have you with us 
     here tonight--a recipient of the Air Force Order of the 
     Sword--the highest tribute that can be bestowed upon anyone 
     by the enlisted force--a great patriot and ardent supporter 
     of our military.
       President and Mrs. Putnam, my service counterparts, members 
     of the foreign joints, Vanguard Award Recipients and 
     distinguished members of the Noncommissioned Officers 
     Association. It's a tremendous pleasure for my wife Johnne 
     and I to be here tonight as I address this distinguished 
     audience of patriots and great Americans.
       Tonight I want to talk to you a little bit about the 
     challenges we face--and a little bit about our future.
       First of all, it's important to recognize that this 
     snapshot in history in which we live is like no other. There 
     has never been another decade like the '90s. And the reason 
     is simple--the cold war is over. For about 45 years it was 
     NATO and the Warsaw Pact going toe to toe. We had the Berlin 
     Wall that represented a visual distinction between democracy 
     and communism--the separation of good and evil, if you will. 
     Our tanks and artillery faced off in the Fulda Gap. We had 
     large numbers of forward based installations with a policy of 
     containment.
       We lived under the umbrella of nuclear annihilation. 
     Remember the drills we had in high school? An alarm would 
     sound indicating a nuclear missile was inbound from the 
     Soviet Union--and we would dive under our desk. Like that 
     would do any good! And we always had that fanatic next door 
     who was building an underground fallout shelter. You remember 
     vividly the Cuban Missile Crisis--when President Kennedy and 
     Premier Kruschev did political battle over the placement of 
     missiles in Cuba.
       In the early 1980s, President Reagan responded to the 
     hollow force of the late '70s and the continuing cold war 
     threat and began to rebuild our armed forces to take on the 
     ``Evil Empire.'' We had plenty of money for defense and 
     plenty of people to do the mission. The '80s presented few 
     problems for us in terms of manpower and resources, and 
     deployments were few. Life was bliss.
       In November of 1989, one of the most dynamic events of this 
     century took place in Berlin. We watched on CNN as the wall 
     was torn down. I was assigned to the Supreme Headquarters 
     Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium. We were knee deep in 
     containment war plans. We couldn't believe our eyes at what 
     was happening. What were we going to do next? As the wall 
     fell and Germany was reunited, we got a sneak peek behind the 
     iron curtain and found that communism had collapsed and the 
     cold war was over--and we were the winners.
       It was like going forward in your car for 45 years and 
     suddenly throwing it into reverse. The world stage changed 
     drastically. Many thought that NATO should be disbanded. 
     Nations demanded money spent for defense be returned to the 
     people for domestic programs. The world wanted a ``peace 
     dividend.'' And the United States was no different. And we 
     began to reduce our military establishment--both in terms of 
     personnel and installations.
       New terms showed up in our vocabulary. Terms like BRAC 
     (Base Realignment and Closure). Our overseas presence was 
     tremendously reduced and we brought forces and equipment 
     home.
       And while many thought our job might be over, our missions 
     actually began to increase. We found ourselves embroiled in 
     ``hot spots.'' We began doing humanitarian and disaster 
     relief missions. Rawanda, Somolia, Liberia, Haiti and Bosnia 
     came up on the scope. Bare base operations like Prince 
     Sultan, El Jabber, Ali Asalem, Doha, Qutar, Baharain; Rhijad, 
     San Vito and others. Places where Americans in uniform must 
     deploy, live and fight. And we continue to deal with Saddam--
     a millstone around our neck. Our Air Force people alone began 
     to deploy at 4 times the rate they did in the ``blissful'' 
     '80s.
       The '90s present a whole new set of challenges. More new 
     terms like Op Tempo and Pers Tempo. We didn't get enough 
     relief from the first round of BRAC--and we are spread too 
     thin across too much real estate. That is why you hear us 
     persistently ask Congress for more BRAC.
       The drawdown meant the loss of skill levels in the ranks as 
     we carved out the middle of the force. We have training 
     shortfalls. We had to find a new way to deliver health care 
     to 9 million eligibles--and Tricare popped up on the scope. 
     We have aging weapons systems--we cannibalize parts from two 
     weapon systems to get one functioning. We have a monotonous 
     desert rotation--slipping readiness posture--outsourcing and 
     privatization are being thrust upon us.
       We deal with all of this against the backdrop of the 
     Balanced Budget Amendment and a flatlined defense budget. It 
     forces us to make tough decisions on whether to modernize, 
     sustain readiness or improve quality of life.
       For the Army and the Air Force--we must make the 
     transformation to become more expeditionary. Lighter and 
     leaner--not reliant on forward based locations and assets. 
     This presents a cultural change for our people who must 
     change how they do business--and old habits die hard.
       Add into all of this retention challenges presented by an 
     overheating economy and low unemployment across the country. 
     The private sector competes for our highly trained and highly 
     disciplined technicians and lure them away with more pay and 
     in many cases better compensation. There is plenty of money 
     for young people to go to college and the propensity to serve 
     has diminished. Recruiters are having a very difficult time 
     making quotas while maintaining quality. There are 
     frustrations with op tempo and pers tempo--the changed 
     retirement system is seen as a breach of faith and Tricare 
     has had some tough times with implementation.
       For myself and my service counterparts, we have increased 
     congressional contact on a variety of subjects like gender 
     integrated training--trying to convince them each service 
     knows how to train their people the right way. We've 
     discussed fraternization rules, readiness and quality of life 
     and their impact on our troops.
       As General Mike Ryan, Air Force Chief of Staff says, ``This 
     is not my father's Air Force.'' And I would submit that this 
     saying applies to all of our armed forces as they relate to 
     the decade of the '90s.
       This scenario has certainly produced its share of 
     ``prophets of doom and gloom.'' Newspapers have editorials 
     from naysayers attacking senior leadership and publicly 
     displaying their disgruntlement over current situations. Some 
     among our own ranks would counsel our troops against making 
     the military a career because ``it isn't as good as it used 
     to be'' Whatever that means!
       The reality is this--the armed forces still offer a great 
     way of life for young Americans. We still offer tremendous 
     opportunity--skills training--and we do it in an environment 
     of equal opportunity. We still offer an exciting way of life. 
     And this nation still needs patriotic Americans who are 
     willing to sacrifice for their nation and win her wars.
       As Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps Lee said in a meeting 
     today, ``it's time to accentuate the positive things about 
     our armed forces and our special way of life--and stop 
     listening to the negative.
       The fact is, we have inherited a new world order. The world 
     stage has changed--it's more complicated and our roles and 
     missions have been modified. We must make adjustments--and we 
     will--we will attack these challenges like we have always 
     done in the past--with hard work and innovation!
       I believe our future is extremely bright. Despite all our 
     challenges, we still have a tremendous corps of young people 
     who are nothing short of fantastic--they exceed all 
     expectations. Their technical skills are something to marvel. 
     When I entered the Air Force back in 1970, our top of the 
     line equipment in the orderly room was the Underwood Five 
     manual typewriter. Today, that same recruit is involved in 
     LAN administration--with advanced computer skills--some even 
     work in the Information Superiority Battle Lab at the Air 
     Intelligence Agency in San Antonio. And as our troops 
     become more and more technically qualified in a variety of 
     skills--we'll have to be competitive if we want to secure 
     their skills for the long run--that's just a fact of life.
       And we need to help our young troops keep focus on the 
     vision of our armed forces of the future. We must instill in 
     them enthusiasm and optimism. As General Colin Powell said, 
     ``Never take counsel of our fears or naysayers.'' He also 
     said, ``Optimism is a force multiplier.''
       We need to remind our troops that the military gave them 
     all they ever needed to

[[Page E1670]]

     know to be successful during their indoctrination into the 
     service at basic training. We taught them how to salute, 
     dress for success, customs and courtesies. We taught them how 
     to follow instructions and to be on time. We taught them how 
     to work as a team through drill and ceremonies. We taught 
     them to have dignity and respect for each other. We also 
     taught them to have high personal standards and to demand 
     high standards for their units. We also taught them 
     followership.
       As we become more expeditionary our roles and missions in 
     joint operations will become increasingly intertwined. We 
     must teach our troops the importance of ``Strength in Unity'' 
     as it relates to the armed ``armed forces'' team.
       We must make them aware of the importance of the 
     legislative process and its impact on the military way of 
     life--we aren't doing a very good job of that right now. As 
     the congress shifts and becomes less attuned to the military 
     and the mood of the country becomes more and more complacent 
     about defense--we will continue to rely on the superb 
     representation of organizations like the Noncommissioned 
     Officers Association. They help preserve entitlements and 
     benefits and work issues on our behalf. And they do a superb 
     job at it.
       We have so very much to be proud of. We wear the uniforms 
     of the greatest armed forces in the world. We are members of 
     an honorable profession--the profession of arms. We walk in 
     the shadows of heroes--men and women who have made the 
     ultimate sacrifice for our great nation. We need to remind 
     ourselves of that once in awhile.
       So, I would say to you here tonight--yes, we have 
     challenges--but we will overcome them and return to level 
     flight and steady seas.
       And, we rely on ``Strength in Unity''--a super motto for 
     the NCOA because it captures the essence of who we are.
       Thank you for having me here tonight--and a special 
     congratulations to our Vanguard Award recipients--who 
     represent the best of the best--and represent the thousands 
     in uniform who serve our great nation around the globe. Good 
     night and God Bless America.


                               BIOGRAPHY

       Chief Master Sergeant Eric W. Benken entered the Air Force 
     in March 1970. He became the 12th Chief Master Sergeant of 
     the Air Force in November 1996. His background is in 
     information management, and he has served for more than 25 
     years in operational, maintenance and support units at every 
     level of command from squadron through major air command. He 
     served in maintenance administration in Taiwan and Vietnam, 
     and served as executive noncommissioned officer to the 
     commander in Korea. His stateside assignments include 
     Bergstrom AFB, Texas, Eglin AFB, Florida, Ellington AFB, 
     Texas, and Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. He also served in a 
     joint service/NATO assignment at the Supreme Headquarters 
     Allied Powers Europe. Before becoming Chief Master Sergeant 
     of the Air Force, he serviced as the senior enlisted advisor 
     for the U.S. Air Force in Europe (USAFE) at Ramstein Air Base 
     in Germany, a position he assumed in October 1994. While at 
     USAFE, the command was involved in operations such as Provide 
     Promise, Provide Comfort, Deliberate Force and Joint Endeavor 
     in Bosnia. Chief Master Sergeant Benken is committed to 
     transitioning the enlisted corps into an Air Expeditionary 
     Force and, in the process, helps shape what the Air Force 
     will look like in the next century and beyond.

     

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