Pate named to Air Force chief's civic leader group
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on April 7, 2006 1:49 PM
Retired banker Troy Pate said he loves representing Goldsboro and Wayne County. Now, he will be its eyes and ears, too -- at least from a military standpoint.
Pate was recently appointed to represent North Carolina on the Air Force Chief of Staff's Civic Leader Group, which was created by the most senior uniformed officer in the United States Air Force, Chief of Staff Gen. T. Moseley.
Troy Pate
Pate said having a local resident in the group is good for Wayne County, and for Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
"It's a real honor to have been selected," Pate said. "And I feel like it benefits the community. We go into detail about issues facing the Air Force, and the issues facing the Air Force are the issues facing Seymour Johnson. It trickles down."
Some of those issues, he said, involve the base and its mission, while others focus on the status of aging equipment, funding for new weapons systems and manpower.
"Any base is concerned about its mission and how suited the facilities are to carry out that mission," Pate said. "My task is to be about the things that, down the line, are going to affect Seymour -- and to question those things."
The group, which includes seven women and 17 men, will meet at least twice a year to receive briefings and share their views on issues that have an impact on the Air Force, Moseley said in a news release.
"One of my goals as Chief of Staff is to strengthen the partnership between our bases' communities, their leaders and senior Air Force leadership," Moseley said in the release. "The folks in this civic leader group have a lot to offer to their communities, their respective bases, to each other, and to the Air Force as a whole. Together, there's a lot of great things we can accomplish. For a long time now, these folks have been steadfast friends and strong supporters of the Air Force. Our Air Force is the best in the world because of the support of incredible citizens like these."
Pate said the group held its first meeting in February. The next meeting is scheduled for June in San Antonio.