Tuesday, March 25, 1997
General ready to take on new mission
By MARY HOPKINS Staff Writer
Brig. Gen. Larry Northington will trade the windy plains of
Abilene for traffic gridlock in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
Instead of working as a field commander, he'll be director
of manpower, quality and privatization for the entire Air Force.
"What I'll be doing is working for a new organization
within Plans and Programs. It's major planning with a long-range
view."
Northington said the world has changed since the end of the
Cold War. He and others at the Pentagon will look into what is
required of the military now.
They'll ask questions such as: How large should the Air Force
be? How should we structure it for threats?
And, Northington said, "quality" is a continued emphasis.
Everyone is for improvement and total-quality management.
"It's the opposite of 'close-enough for government work,'
" Northington said. "That's sloppy. Sloppy's not OK."
Deter War, but Win if Necessary
Northington's proud of realistic training on the C-130 and
B-1 at Dyess.
"Our goal is to deter war. If we have to fight, we need
to win," he said. "We fly and train aggressively, and
the training is realistic. If there's a flare-up somewhere in
the world, we have to use creativity and aggressiveness."
He's leaving with pride about what the 7th Wing has done since
he arrived. An image he said he won't forget is of leaving work
late and going out on the flight line into the engine shop. There
was an 18-year-old airman working on a piece of diagnostic equipment
for the B-1 bomber.
"It's an $18,000 piece of equipment, like a doctor's oscilloscope.
And it has knobs and dials. He was using it to adjust the fan
blades in a $7 million engine, and he was one of hundreds,"
Northington said. "It's high-tech, high-cost and high importance.
There are 2,000 guys like him. I'm proud of what they're doing.
There's quality, talent, aptitude and attitude there."
And while he was 7th Wing commander, Northington said Dyess
made top-notch improvements in places where people work and live
and do recreation thanks to a $40 million construction program.
Dyess has upgraded the dorms for young enlisted men and family
housing.
"We have a new neighborhood and have upgraded clubs. We
renovated an old building to be a health club, and we practice
preventative maintenance." The New Leader
Brig. Gen. (Select) Mike McMahon will be taking over command
of the 7th Wing at an 11 a.m. Wednesday ceremony.
Northington said he and his wife, Linda, used to work with
McMahon and his wife, Patty, in Omaha, Neb.
"Continuity is important. Every commander is different
and will have his own style. Major value systems are the same,
though. I literally will do a personal memo to McMahon on issues,
problems and challenges. I want Dyess 7th Wing to be the biggest
success."
Northington said he'll try to sneak back for Dyess' 50th anniversary
and the ribbon-cutting at the memorial park at Dyess Elementary
for the crewmen killed in a C-130 crash in Wyoming last year.
"Abilene is renowned for what it does for the base. In
the 13 or 14 assignments we've had, we have not been in any community
with greater support for the military than Abilene. It's a great
place to live. At the Dyess Open House there were 75,000 people
- and the population is 110,000. That's a huge, incredible turnout,"
Northington said. Northington's New Home
This will be Northington's fifth time at the Pentagon. He and
Linda own a house in Springfield, Va.
"It's beautiful there. The winters are more brisk. Summers
are as hot, but more humid. But the wind doesn't blow as much,"
he said with a laugh.
Northington is looking forward to being closer to his 22-year-old
daughter, Stacy, who lives in Richmond, Va., and was married last
summer.
He and Linda will also be about six hours away from son Brad,
20, who's a senior at the University of North Carolina in Asheville.
He plays varsity soccer and is majoring in business.
However, Northington said he's leaving Dyess with mixed emotions.
"I've never known a commander who would say he was glad
to leave a field commander position to go to the Pentagon,"
Northington said.
After his third tour of duty in Texas, he joked that he wondered
how many more he'll have to do before anyone considers him a local.
Northington was last at Dyess in 1991-92.
"I've made a lot of friends. There's always a little sadness
when you're leaving," he said.
"But I'm coming up on 24 years in the Air Force, and this
is the 13th or 14th move. Moving is a way of life. You become
adjusted. There are great new challenges. Leaving friends, organizations
and the wing is a challenge, but I'd like to make a real contribution
in Washington, D.C., at the Pentagon in the Department of Defense."
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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