Gen. Mark Welsh III became the Air Force's 20th Chief of Staff in August 2012. Then, like his fellow Chiefs, he had to deal with Congress and budgets. About 150,000 of his civilians were furloughed. Sequestration forced him to pencil out modernization against readiness. Next, he had to deal with a nuclear force knee deep in drugs, cheating, gambling, drunkenness and incompetence. When all said in done, the Air Force plans to cut about 22,500 airmen, or 7 percent of its active-duty force, this year.

It's no wonder Welsh III hit the road.

"I really believe if you are an Air Force and you recruit the best people in the country, which we do, and you train them better than anyone else and you put them with people who make them proud of what they do, how well they do it and what they represent, then you get a performance you can never get any other way," Welsh III told Team McChord this past week. "The formula is simple, people plus pride equals performance."

Master Sgt. Todd Wivell of the 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs wrote down those words and wrote a few of his own following Welsh III around Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

"It is really helpful for us to get out and see what you are all doing and how you are doing it. To talk to the Airmen and to get an idea of what concerns you have," Welsh said.

During their visit, they learned about everything from JBLM's joint basing structure and the collaboration with Ft. Lewis, the Total Force partnerships, the prime nuclear airlift force to the base's continuing effort to ensure a culture of dignity and respect.

Read Wivell's full report on Welsh III's visit to JBLM here.