'The Boss' answers for everything at Edwards

  • Published
  • By Diane Betzler
  • Staff Writer
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Leadership comes in many forms at Edwards Air Force Base.  Here there are many leaders, most in uniform, some in civilian clothes, but no matter how they dress, their goal is the same, to work together as a team and do the best job they can.

Ultimately, the top position is held by Maj. Gen. David Eichhorn, commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center. General Eichhorn, who is often affectionately referred to as "the Boss," is the one who, at the end of each day, answers for everything that goes on at Edwards.

It takes a two-star general to lead Edwards because of the highly technical programs being developed and tested here.

Because the Flight Test Center requires a lot of resources to get the job done, General Eichhorn explained his role and the roles his team plays in the scheme of things.

"The primary role of the flight test center commander and center staff is to ensure that the right resources are on base for the right people to use in order to get the work done for the acquisition systems and for the Air Force," General Eichhorn said.

"This is where the rubber meets the road," the general said, when discussing how the testing being done at Edwards affects the war fighter.

Most of the Air Force's weapons were first proven here. The center is a major contributor to the Air Force's overall mission, which is to defend the United States and protect it interests through air power. The center does that through its ongoing test and evaluation programs, which are considered to be the foundation of Edwards' existence.
The general said Edwards is all about repeatable test results and said that by the time they deliver equipment to the war fighter, the Edwards team guarantees that equipment will work as advertised.

He explained that industry sells the products to the Air Force but that it's up to the Air Force Flight Test Center to test those products, "How well it works needs to be evaluated objectively and repeatedly," he said. "As the Air Force buys the equipment, we need to find out if that equipment lives up to its brochure."

Testing manufactured goods over and over is what it takes to ensure the Air Force is delivering a dependable and predictable product to the war fighter. "When a pilot straps into an F-22 or an F-35, the same things happen every time in such a consistent manner that man and machine are an effective team," General Eichhorn said.

General Eichhorn began his Air Force career in the late 1970s and by 1985 became an experimental test pilot. To date, the general has more than 5,700 hours recorded in his pilot's log and has flown more than 40 different aircraft. Among his favorite airplanes, the general has been heard boasting about a special fondness for the B-1B, F-15E, the T-38 and the F-111.

The general is no stranger to leadership positions, as he continued his education and his list of degrees grew, so did his responsibilities. His commands include two flight test squadrons, a test group, a test wing, and the Arnold Engineering Development Center where he managed developmental flight tests on a variety of weapons.
He also served as director of Advanced Aircraft Systems, Director of Advanced Command, Control and Communications Systems, and the list goes on.
Though the general admits that his role as commander and the functions that his center staff fulfills are essential to base operations, he says the success of the base is due to the team.

"Base leadership aren't the people who do the actual work, but we do fill a critical role in making sure the people who make up team Edwards can do their jobs."
What's important to General Eichhorn is that people understand how important the work is that the Air Force Flight Test Center does and how the work and data are used. "And that the people who work here at Edwards understand that the leadership team is here to support them," he said.

It's also important to the general that the local communities understand what Edwards is all about.

"I need the community to understand what we do. We need their support to succeed," he said.

When General Eichhorn's tour is over at Edwards, he hopes to be remembered as the general who cared deeply about the base and that he did his best to make sure all the right people had the best tools to do the mission. The general also hopes the base is recognized for its contributions to the community.

General Eichhorn said he hopes the people on base appreciate the fact that community support is vital to Edwards' future. He said the Edwards' mission is so important and they need community support to ensure we have the right tools to do the job of providing the right information at the right time to the nation's decision makers.
"We gotta work it together," he said.

Editor's note: This story is the first in a series about the leadership of the Air Force Flight Test Center.