Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 | 9:38 a.m.
In more than 24 years in the Air Force, Maj. Gen. Stephen Goldfein never found himself stationed at Nellis Air Force Base -- but now he is in Las Vegas commanding the Air Warfare Center and overseeing the country's premier test and training base.
"I think I'm probably the only one in this position who hasn't served here in the past," said Goldfein, who said he was happy to be assigned to Nellis from the Pentagon. "Here I have a chance to be around the airmen. I have a chance to serve them and provide vision and guidance and insure they have what they need.
"To command is a privilege, and I've noticed that the community is proud of the airmen at Nellis and they have every right to be."
Goldfein, who took over command at Nellis in October, said in an interview Tuesday that Nellis will continue to see new weapon technologies in the coming years, and additional construction at both the Indian Springs Auxiliary Air Field and Nellis to house the systems and the airmen that will run them.
There will continue to be growth in the Predator remote-piloted aircraft operations at Indian Springs in the coming years Goldfein said.
"It's quite possible that we could expand to another squadron in Indian Springs, or at least see the three squadrons we have out there continue to grow," Goldfein said. "We need to continue to meet the high demand for the Predator that has provided such a great support capability, especially for our brothers in the Army."
Goldfein said that construction to house more Predators, which are remotely flown by pilots at Nellis everyday in the skies over Afghanistan and Iraq and have been used to strike targets with Hellfire missiles, could begin by the end of the year or in 2006.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is another high-tech weapons system that could arrive in Nellis by the end of 2006 or 2007. The F-35 is designed to take over the air-to-ground combat responsibilities of the A-10 and the F-16, while the FA-22 is being groomed as a replacement to the F-15.
Goldfein, who previously served in the Pentagon as the director of Operational Capability Requirements and deputy chief of staff for Air and Space Operations, said Nellis will also be hosting a new kind of Red Flag training exercise in March.
Nellis hosts four Red Flag training missions a year, often including more than 100 aircraft flying over the Nevada Test and Training Range in mock combat situations.
On March 19 Nellis will host a joint Red Flag that will include the Army, Navy and Marines in an exercise that is the first of its kind.
"It will allow us to connect at an operations level, making strategic decisions while managing large forces jointly," Goldfein said. "It should help us understand how to operate and understand each other together."
The Navy, Marine and Army portions of the exercise will be conducted at various training bases, while the Air Force will be flying over the test and training range, but it will all be coordinated at the command and control center at Nellis.
Goldfein, 47, grew up in an Air Force family, with his father retiring as a colonel at Nellis. Both his brothers are also in the Air Force, and his son is scheduled to graduate from the Air Force Academy later this year.
Goldfein said that he has been impressed with the warmth of local leaders and citizens and their knowledge of the Air Force and the service of Nellis airmen in the war on terrorism.
"Right now we have a little over 500 airmen deployed all over the world," Goldfein said. "We have security force, engineers, pilots, and maintainers. You can pick a function and we've had them deployed."
The majority of Nellis deployed troops have been assigned to Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East.
Also, members of Nellis's 99th Logistics Readiness Squadron were named as part of the outstanding Air Force unit of the year for serving as drivers and gunners in Army convoys in Iraq.
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