News

Lucas arrives as new command chief

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Morgan
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Chief Master Sgt. James Lucas, command chief master sergeant of the 436th Airlift Wing, arrived Aug. 12, 2011, at Dover Air Force Base, Del., after a 365 day deployment to Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan.

On his 28th year of service and filling his third command chief billet, Lucas said when he heard he was coming to Dover AFB he knew he hit the jackpot.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to serve in this capacity again; very humbled to be chosen by Col. [Mark] Camerer," said Lucas. "As I spoke to people about my assignment, all I heard was Dover AFB has fantastic people, with a fantastic mission. The reputation of the Airmen within this wing is well known. It is great to know I am part of such a great place."

Lucas brings experience and a unique leadership style to Dover AFB. Some traits that are most important to him are:

- values
- responsibility for Airmen
- responsibility to the Airmen

Quite often, Lucas finds these three things are interconnected.

The Air Force's core values, integrity, service before self, and excellence in all we do, are the three most important values to Lucas. However, according to Lucas, he does have three other values that help him approach his job effectively - mutual respect, continuous improvement and leadership.

To Lucas, every Airman's career is just as important as the next, and everyone should treat each other accordingly.

"Mutual respect is something I hope to instill in every Airman," said Lucas. "Treat everyone's role and responsibility the same; they are just as important as everyone else's."

Continuous improvement to Lucas means having a healthy need to change from where we are today. Not only continuously improving oneself, but also, creating a vision and spirit of innovation. This allows members to provide fresh and new ideas.

"Change is the only constant in life; the better you are at forecasting, defining and managing change, the better off you're going to be, and the better you will lead your work centers," said Lucas. "The status quo is not our friend; we should never fully be satisfied with where we are. There is always room to grow."

Mutual respect and continuous change are both values that lead into what Lucas considers his primary responsibility - leadership.

"We are all charged with leading. I expect myself to be a leader, but I have the same expectation for any rank," said Lucas. "Everybody that wears this uniform ought to consider themselves a leader, and they should lead with honor."

The most fundamental and basic approach to leadership is to lead by example, he said. Credibility takes a life time to build, but it can be gone in an instant. 

Lucas uses these values to help him manage his responsibilities, which are two-fold; responsibility to the enlisted members of Team Dover, and responsibility for the enlisted members of the Team Dover.

"The enlisted voice, concerns, and welfare will always be presented -- this is my responsibility to the enlisted core at Dover AFB," said Lucas. "I also have a responsibility for the enlisted - this is to make sure the enlisted force is capable of executing the mission."

Lucas said at the end of the day, there are only Team Dover issues. Officer or enlisted, they come together. He stands ready to tackle any problems that come his way.

"I want to thank everyone for the warm welcome for my wife Susan and myself. The reputation of Dover AFB being a very family-oriented team and community is well deserved," said Lucas. We have benefited from that reputation. I look forward to serving with everyone here."