Special host holds Edwards enlisted call

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class William O'Brien
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The Command Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Materiel Command hosted an enlisted call in the Base Theater here July 9.

Chief Master Sgt. William Gurney, opened by welcoming Team Edwards and thanked them for coming. further, he noted that open lines of communication would be the only way he could learn what's important to the Airmen here and share that with them.

"The only way I can do my job is by earning your trust and since I just flew into town the other day, none of you know me, so none of you trust me," he said. "There are a million different topics I could discuss. That's not going to do any of us any good if I just talk about what's important to me, I want to hear what's important to you."

During the hour and a half enlisted call, the chief answered questions from attendees; some of the topics included the possibility of a dining facility on base, the construction of a new fitness center and all the changes coming to the physical training test.

Chief Gurney said the challenge with having a dining facility here was funding.

"As an Air Force, we are in a fiscally constrained environment," said Chief Gurney. "A dining facility isn't a money maker, it's another bill, and it isn't like the golf course that makes a profit. When Edwards receives its annual budget, if something needs to be cut the unique mission of this base limits what programs can be cut, we can't cut something such as a weapon system development program that affects other commands." 

Chief Gurney also said Edwards Fitness Center getting upgraded is the AFMC's top priority, as far as fitness centers go.

"It is the number one fitness center priority within the command," he said. "As soon as money for it to get upgraded becomes available it will be used here. Your congresswomen put in an insert to get that date pushed back up to fiscal year 2011, but a lot can happen between now and then, but as of now that's what we're hoping for."

The chief also discussed the new physical training uniform and the changes coming to PT assessment.

"I was fortunate enough to be involved with the testing of the new PT uniform," he said. "They asked me to use it as much as possible for six weeks and provide them with feedback afterward. After testing it, I'm 99 percent sure everyone in this room would welcome the change. The new uniform is more comfortable and breathable." 

When the Air Force implements the new PT test, the procedures won't change. The scoring tables and weight of each factor that will be affected.

"When the new fitness test begins, the test itself will be like the one you are familiar with right now, but were going to do it a little bit smarter," he said. 

The first change that was made was to scoring for every element of the test, saying that with the old scoring system, the sharp decline in points at the top of the scale and the plateau at the bottom didn't provide any incentive to make small improvements.

"We've worked to make the scoring more linear (across) all the scales for all the categories," said Chief Gurney. "Right now, a male with a 36 inch waist has no incentive to get down to a 35 inch waist because the points increase is so minimal."

The point values of each of the elements are set to change.

"Both push-ups and sit-ups will remain worth 10 points each," he said. "The run will now be worth 60 and the abdominal circumference will be worth 20 points."

To promote all-around health, the new PT test will have minimum requirements for each element.

"Each element of the test will have minimum requirements and failure to reach the minimum requirement in any of them will result in an automatic failure," said AFMC's top enlisted. 

Chief Gurney said that the AFMC is one of the fittest commands in the Air Force and that the changes coming to the fitness test won't do anything to change that.

"We started out as one of the fat commands, now we are the second fittest command in the Air Force," said Chief Gurney. "The only one fitter than us is the Air Education and Training Command, that's because included in their stats are the basic training and technical school students, looking at just their staff members, we're ahead of them as well."

Chief Gurney closed the enlisted call by thanking everyone for their presence and participation.

"I appreciate the fact that you took time out of your day to spend some time with me and talk to me to let me know what's on your minds," said the Chief. "Thanks for what you do out here for the Air Force."

In addition to the enlisted call, the Chief visited with various units across the base and the current First Term Airmen Center and Airmen Leadership classes. He also took part in a fitness run during his stay here.