Support Group commander looks to future

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Aldric Borders
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AFB, Okla. --  After serving little more than two months as the 97th Mission Support Group commander, Col. Keith Moncrief already has a huge appreciation for "...the level and depth of talent" in the 97th MSG and at Altus Air Force Base.
 
After arriving from Yokota Air Base, Japan, where he was commander of the 730th Air Mobility Squadron, Colonel Moncrief realizes command at the group level is a little more complex, but "loves a big challenge."
 
"My lifelong personal philosophy is to 'cooperate and graduate', which simply means to team up to accomplish the mission at hand," said Colonel Moncrief. 

"Already the 97th MSG has impressed me with its Team Altus attitude and tireless work ethic. A great amount of cooperation was demonstrated during the base's recent response to threatening grass fires. You talk about cooperating and graduating, everyone, military and civilian, helped save the base from being overrun by fire. I got a real eyeful on what it means to be a team player at Altus AFB and a member of the city of Altus. My job was to enable the Fire Chief, Security Forces, Jackson County responders--all those guys--to do their job and it was a wonderful thing," said Col. Moncrief. 

Having seen the 97th MSG in action Colonel Moncrief believes his group has only scratched the surface of its full potential. "I'm awed by the level of talent present on this team. I will do my best to push the 97th MSG to even higher levels of achievement and recognition--on both the individual and unit levels. We're going to be writing EPRs, telling Airman's stories, getting people medals, winning awards and recognition in ways which will make Altus the envy of Air Education and Training Command." 

"Of course, my goals for the 97th MSG fall right in line with those of Col. Carlton Everhart, 97th Air Mobility Wing commander, and his vision," said Colonel Moncrief. 

"I think Altus is very lucky to have a commander like Colonel Everhart. I've never met a more gifted, approachable, and inclusive senior officer. He has so much to share with everyone and is willing to give it all to the 97th AMW team." 

In addition to the people of Altus, Colonel Moncrief is struck by the 97th AMW's expeditionary mindset. "When we look at the larger Air Force, we're all deploying, and what I see when I look across this entire team at Altus, with all its talent, are people saying 'send me coach!'. They do it without any hesitation, some deploying for upwards of 365 days. When I witness heroics like that it absolutely makes me want to sign up for another 23 years in the service. The attitude is absolutely contagious and it's here more than anywhere I've been stationed," he said. 

Another thing that seems to be contagious is the support given to the 97th AMW by family members and the Altus community at large, said Colonel Moncrief. 

"I'm awestruck by how the families seem to be really behind the mission, remaining steadfastly hopeful and stubbornly positive. It's almost a pioneer, pro-America spirit. I also feel a strongly welcoming vibe from the surrounding Altus community. Though I've been heartened by the reception that my wife and I have received, I've been blown away by how well Airmen of all levels are embraced by Altus' residents with gestures such as the recent Committee of 100 dinner. It is set up as a quarterly reception for recently deployed troops, aircrew training students and newcomers to the base. It's like nothing I've seen anywhere else." 

"To sum it up, I feel very lucky to be at Altus! I feel like I'm here for a reason. I'm glad to be working shoulder-to-shoulder with great people. I'm going to happily devote 24-hours a day to prove to the world that Altus is the place to be in AETC!"