CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Team Cannon had the honor of hosting Reps. Mac Thornberry, House Armed Services Committee vice chairman, and Steve Pearce, Financial Services member, Sept. 25 here.
On their visit, both Thornberry and Pearce were given a front-row seat to the 27th Special Operations Wing’s aircraft capabilities, quality of life initiatives and improvements, and a general sense of what being a premier Special Operations installation entails.
While meeting with a selection of Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico top leaders, Col. Tony Bauernfeind, 27 SOW commander, stressed the importance of what Air Commandos are contributing toward the mission, community and Air Force as a whole.
“We are striving to create a high-intensity training environment so that when the time comes, we can bring the fight with precision and confidence wherever we are needed,” Bauernfeind said.
After sharing the wing’s mission statement, to provide and enable precise, reliable, flexible, and responsive specialized Air Power to our joint teammates, while sustaining and growing a premier Air Force installation, Thornberry and Pearce, as well as their respective parties, made their way to the base tower.
While scanning the vast expanse, they were shown the progress of current projects underway at Cannon, as well as projected plans for the future.
“The projects taking place across the base are all designed specifically to enhance the performance of our Air Commandos, while simultaneously increasing the quality of life for them and their families,” Bauernfeind explained.
During a Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Thornberry advised community members and leaders on the importance of Cannon and its mission.
“You can look and see where troops from Cannon are in the center of critical missions,” Thornberry said. “We have huge range from our military. We ask them to fight against disease and deal with big nuclear powers. Our military is on the way to becoming the smallest since the World War II era. We can’t allow this to happen with all the national security threats we are facing.”
Concluding their visit, Thornberry and Pearce boarded a CV-22 Osprey and departed to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, continuing their tour of Air Force bases but not without overflying Melrose Air Force Range (MAFR), New Mexico.
In flight, Lt. Col. George Sefzik, 27th Special Operations Air Operations Squadron commander, briefed the representatives on the capabilities and mission of the multi-functional aerial asset, while presenting a bird’s-eye view of MAFR.
This tour gave both Thornberry and Pearce a firsthand account of all that Cannon is capable of, and all that Congress can do to keep Cannon growing as a premier Air Force installation.