An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

AETC COVID-19 Oral History with 59th Medical Wing

  • Published
  • By AETC Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas – In episode 50 of "The Air Force Starts Here," we take a look back at how the COVID-19 pandemic and changed Air Force training.

Gary Boyd, Air Education and Training Command historian,  speaks with Maj. Gen. John J. DeGoes, who is the former 59th Medical Wing commander, and has been credited by Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, commander of AETC, as a pivotal leader in fighting though the pandemic.

Boyd and DeGoes go over the actions taken to combat the virus, challenges , and innovative ways of doing business  to  ensure the safety of Airmen and their families as AETC leaders  continued the mission to educated, train and recruit. The two discuss steps taken to keep ‘fighting through’ the pandemic, with a strong culture of safety, strict implementation of the CDC guidelines, and mitigation of risks across the training pipeline.

DeGoes has since PCSed to Washington D.C., where he is serving as the deputy to the Air Force surgeon general.

The Air Force Starts Here podcast is a professional development podcasts that is designed to help communicate and inform Total Force Airmen across the globe on relevant, timely topics related to the recruiting, training, education and development fields. The podcast  can be listened to on the government network on the AETC website, DVIDS, or via mobile application as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play.