Commentary - Birthday celebrations and new directions Published Sept. 25, 2008 By Col. Timothy Leahy 27th Special Operations Wing CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- At its first combat wing dining out Sept. 18, the 27th Special Operations Wing celebrated a couple of important dates that directly contributed to establishing Cannon Air Force Base and determining the mission we support today. Not only did we gather last week to commemorate the Air Force's 61st birthday, but we also marked our wing's own upcoming first birthday. As Airman 1st Class Samuel Bulow, the youngest Airman present at the dining out, and I made the first cut into the birthday cake, I thought about how far we've come since our transition from Air Combat Command to Air Force Special Operations Command on Oct. 1, 2007. Since the transition, we have made significant changes here, resulting in new and upgraded work, living and recreation facilities for our Airmen and their families--and ultimately, the improvement of the quality of life for everyone. We at the 27th SOW are still working hard to provide a high quality of life in every way we can. Also, the past year has been largely dedicated to bringing in AFSOC Airmen and assets to the base. Now we have a handful of aircraft and more than 2,000 Airmen assigned here. Within the next five years, our aircraft fleet is expected to grow to nearly 100, along with several thousand more Airmen and government employees who are needed to keep those aircraft flying and to carry out the AFSOC mission. As we begin our second year as the 27th SOW, building up the base and improving the quality of life here will still be priorities, but not our only priorities. We will dedicate more of our time and energy toward projecting power forward in deployed locations. We'll also ramp up our combat training and joint force exercises, both on base and at the Melrose Air Force Range, by bringing in SOF warriors from all of the U.S. Special Operations Command components. Every day, more than 200 Cannon Airmen and civilians are deployed in support of the Global War on Terror and other AFSOC taskings. As the number of people and aircraft grow, I expect that we'll be deploying even more, doing what our country asks of us to keep it safe and free. Like those Prisoners of War and Missing in Action we honored as part of our dining out ceremony, we must continually remember why we're serving in the U.S. Air Force. We must also keep in mind that we have a great and exciting responsibility of making Cannon into a base that trains and deploys a premier force of AFSOC warriors. Thank you for your hard work so far. I'm proud to be a part of a team that's looking ahead, building up the western base of Air Commandos.