GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Welcome back, Team Goodfellow! I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and have come back refreshed and ready to capitalize on the opportunities and tackle the challenges standing before us in 2014. Since I arrived in San Angelo last May and took command of the 17th Training Wing, I have been continually impressed by the professionalism and dedication showcased by all of our Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coastguardsmen and civilians and am not surprised by how successful this last year was in spite of the obstacles we all faced.
Shortly after I arrived on Goodfellow Air Force Base, our day-to-day lives were greatly impacted when the government implemented a furlough, which ultimately affected 625 civilian employees and forced military and excepted personnel to do more with even less. Fortunately, our preparation and hard work beforehand minimized the damage to the mission and allowed us to continue to develop the best intelligence and firefighting professionals in the world. In fact, the wing delivered an all-time high number of combat-ready technicians to the field in 2013.
In addition to this historical performance, we continued to build up our installation and strengthen relationships with the local community. In August, we added a new search trainer at the fire academy that will enable more efficient, live-fire protection activities. In October, we hosted the San Angelo City Council and recognized San Angelo's new mayor, Dwain Morrison, as the 17th Training Wing's honorary commander. As Goodfellow moves forward into 2014, we will continue to build up our training infrastructure, as evident by ongoing projects such as the Joint Intelligence Technical Training Facility and the Royal Saudi Air Force training facility.
Finally, no welcome back would be complete without once again thanking all of you for your incredible performance during the Air Education and Training Command's Consolidated Unit Inspection in November of last year. It was only through your dedicated professionalism and willingness to go above and beyond that we were able to earn the Inspector General's "Excellent" rating across the board and head into the new year with such momentum.
As we begin 2014, I am certain many challenges will present themselves, particularly with the fiscally-constrained environment and new force management agenda; however, I believe we will capitalize on our outstanding performance in 2013 and deliver an even higher quality of trained Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and civilians to our nation in the year ahead. In order to accomplish this, I ask that we all take some time to reflect on our growth as individuals and as members of the armed forces. Let us be appreciative for all that we have accomplished but also look for ways to improve our mission and ourselves. Without your professional demeanor, relentless pursuit of innovative solutions to whatever challenges we confront, and perpetual pursuit of excellence, the 17th Training Wing would not be the top-notch organization it is today.
I am honored to serve as your Commander. Happy New Year, and again, welcome back.