A special guest speaker attended a dining-in event with members of the 563rd Rescue Group at the JW Marriott Resort in Tucson, Ariz., April 11.
During a traditional mess dress dinner, Michael B. Donley, retired Secretary of the Air Force, discussed significant events he experienced while acting SAF and thanked the rescue group members and their families for their service and support.
With his last visit to Davis-Monthan being in 1993, Donley was sure to take advantage of the dinner he shared with the Airmen.
“It’s not only an honor to join you this evening,” Donley said. “But it is also an overdue opportunity to thank each of you, personally, for all you do for our Air Force.”
The retired secretary emphasized the impact that the performance of each Airman resonates throughout the entire Air Force.
“Every Airman has a role,” Donley said. “Each of you has a position to be played, a job to be done and done well, a job which another Airman, your flight and your squadron depend on.”
Donley laid out the formula for maintaining a competent and successful Air Force.
“In order to do our jobs right, we must be constantly in motion, changing to anticipate new threats, growing in some areas but contracting in others, retiring the old, creating the new, always preparing for the future,” Donley said.