19th AF command team connects with Altus Published Sept. 28, 2023 By Airman 1st Class Kari Degraffenreed 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Maj. Gen. Clark Quinn, 19th Air Force commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Justin Apticar, 19th AF command chief, visited Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Sept. 20-21, 2023. To kick off Quinn’s first visit to Mobility’s Hometown, he held an all-call for the base populace to introduce himself and explain how the 97th Air Mobility Wing mission ties into the bigger picture. “It begins here and it is refined here,” Quinn said. “If there is an Airman who is assigned here who does not know how they directly contribute to executing the national defense strategy, I can draw a direct line between what you do here and what is going on out there.” Quinn and Apticar spent the rest of their tour visiting several different squadrons to get to know Airmen who keep the mission going every single day, including units of the 97th Medical Group, 97th Operations Group, 97th Mission Support Group and 97th Maintenance Group. During each interaction, the 19th Air Force command team encouraged Altus AFB Airmen to live out the priorities of the installation. “Your wing’s priorities are ‘Airmen,’ ‘Mission,’ ‘Culture,’” Apticar said. “The culture has to be embedded in what we believe. Those concepts need to turn into reps, which turn into experience, which turns into mission readiness - which means we are ready to meet the challenge.”