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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody speak with members of the 97th Air Mobility Wing March 6, 2014, at Altus Air Force Base. Welsh and Cody addressed various topics such as sequestration, force structure and sexual assault. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Dillon Davis)140306-F-RC891-183
                        
                        
                        Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody speak with members of the 97th Air Mobility Wing March 6, 2014, at Altus Air Force Base. Welsh and Cody addressed various topics such as sequestration, force structure and sexual assault. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Dillon Davis)
                
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        Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody operates a KC-135 Stratotanker boom operator weapon system trainer at the KC-135 Aircrew Training Center March 6, 2014, at Altus Air Force Base. Cody, Air Force Chief of Staff Mark A. Welsh III and their spouses, Athena and Betty, visited the base to interact with Airmen, their families and the Altus AFB community. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Franklin R. Ramos)140306-F-FV476-129
                        
                        
                        Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody operates a KC-135 Stratotanker boom operator weapon system trainer at the KC-135 Aircrew Training Center March 6, 2014, at Altus Air Force Base. Cody, Air Force Chief of Staff Mark A. Welsh III and their spouses, Athena and Betty, visited the base to interact with Airmen, their families and the Altus AFB community. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Franklin R. Ramos)
                
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        Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III meets with Airmen of the 97th Medical Group Mar. 5, 2014, at Altus Air Force Base. Welsh, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody and their spouses, Betty and Athena, visited Altus AFB to get a firsthand look at the wing’s mission and speak with Airmen and their families about opportunities and challenges they face. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jesse Lopez)140305-F-QY930-178
                        
                        
                        Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III meets with Airmen of the 97th Medical Group Mar. 5, 2014, at Altus Air Force Base. Welsh, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody and their spouses, Betty and Athena, visited Altus AFB to get a firsthand look at the wing’s mission and speak with Airmen and their families about opportunities and challenges they face. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jesse Lopez)
                
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        Maj. Trent Davis talks to Betty Welsh, wife of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, and Athena Cody, wife of Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody, March 6, 2014, inside the Airman Resilience Center at Altus Air Force Base. The Base Chapel created the ARC to help cater to base members of all religions and create a social gathering location that can be used by all members. Davis is the 97th Air Mobility Wing head chaplain. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Dillon Davis)140306-F-RC891-077
                        
                        
                        Maj. Trent Davis talks to Betty Welsh, wife of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, and Athena Cody, wife of Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody, March 6, 2014, inside the Airman Resilience Center at Altus Air Force Base. The Base Chapel created the ARC to help cater to base members of all religions and create a social gathering location that can be used by all members. Davis is the 97th Air Mobility Wing head chaplain. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Dillon Davis)
                
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        Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody speak with Tech. Sgt. Bartek Bachleda during their March 6, 2014 visit to Altus Air Force Base. Bachleda spoke to Welsh and Cody about the innovative enhancements he made to the KC-135 Stratotanker boom operators’ refueling pod pads, and how the improvements help during daily operations. Bachleda is a 54th Air Refueling Squadron instructor. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jesse Lopez)140306-F-QY930-085
                        
                        
                        Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody speak with Tech. Sgt. Bartek Bachleda during their March 6, 2014 visit to Altus Air Force Base. Bachleda spoke to Welsh and Cody about the innovative enhancements he made to the KC-135 Stratotanker boom operators’ refueling pod pads, and how the improvements help during daily operations. Bachleda is a 54th Air Refueling Squadron instructor. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jesse Lopez)
                
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        Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody speak with members assigned to the 97th Air Mobility Wing March 6, 2014, at Altus Air Force Base. Welsh and Cody addressed various topics such as sequestration, force structure and sexual assault. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Franklin R. Ramos)140306-F-FV476-176
                        
                        
                        Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody speak with members assigned to the 97th Air Mobility Wing March 6, 2014, at Altus Air Force Base. Welsh and Cody addressed various topics such as sequestration, force structure and sexual assault. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Franklin R. Ramos)
                
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CSAF, CMSAF visit Altus AFBPublished March 10, 2014
                    
                    By Senior Airman Levin Boland
                    
                    
                    97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
            **ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFNS) --**Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody and their spouses, Betty and Athena, spent two days here to tour the installation and meet Airmen and their families March 5 and 6. Welsh also served as keynote speaker at the Altus Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet in the City of Altus, March 6.
During the visit, Welsh and Cody spoke to hundreds of Airmen at an all call held inside an open hangar.
"The Chief and I had the pleasure of being here at Altus before in our previous roles in Air Education and Training Command," Welsh said. "The sense of pride and attitude that the young men and women and their families display here comes as no surprise."
Upholding Air Force core values, increasing communication in the chain of command and stressing the importance of getting to know each other were some of the topics discussed during the speech.
"If you read the papers, we're not following (the core values) very well right now," Welsh said. "The core values mean something to us. Talk to your people. Make sure they know what integrity means. The way I think of it, if you don't believe in those core values. If you don't believe they represent what you stand for, you probably shouldn't be in the armed services." 
After speaking, the leaders opened the floor for questions. One of the questions concerned Altus AFB's placement as a Commander and Chief's Installation Excellence award finalist and Welsh confirmed that Altus was indeed the top Air Force installation. 
"Congratulations. That's a phenomenal accomplishment,"  Welsh said. "It takes everybody in a wing to make it happen, and it takes everybody in the community to support you to accomplish this. It's really exciting news for all of us."
Welsh said the award a reflection of the quality of work from Airmen at the wing.
"There are 130,000 people in the mobility enterprise in the United States Air Force," Welsh said. "One hundred and thirty thousand going around the world and you train them all. Thank you all for what you do. You have no idea how much your accomplishments mean."
Cody echoed the General's words with praise of his own. 
"The men and women you are training make our mission possible," Cody said. "What you do is important. It's needed. Thank you so much for everything you do."
During their time at Altus AFB, Mrs. Welsh and Mrs. Cody spoke with Airmen and spouses about trending topics and local family support programs. They also toured various facilities throughout the base.
"I think one of the biggest things we see around the Air Force is people worrying about the support and the benefits we have now, and if they are going away," Mrs. Welsh said during a conversation with Altus AFB key spouses. "In our support networks now, we try to talk about the key spouse programs because it can really help fill in the gaps to support each other and take care of one another."
"We encourage everyone to try and use their professional and social organizations and leverage them to do what you need them to do," Mrs. Cody said.
Throughout the visit, outstanding performers were recognized by Welsh and Cody for their individual accomplishments. 
From learning about Airmen resiliency programs to advances in training techniques and equipment, Welsh and Cody left with a great perspective of what motivates the Mighty 97th. 
"You get the feeling that it is comfortable here and that people really appreciate the base," Welsh said. "Altus is one of the few bases where everyone walks away saying great things about the base."CMSAF 



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        GENERAL MARK A. WELSH III
                                June 18, 2015
                                Gen. Mark A. Welsh III is Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. As Chief, he serves as the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipping of 660,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and
            
            CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT OF THE AIR FORCE JAMES A. CODY
                                Jan. 25, 2013
                                Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Cody represents the highest enlisted level of leadership, and as such, provides direction for the enlisted force and represents their interests, as appropriate, to the American public, and to those in all levels of government. He serves as the personal Featured News
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