JOINT BASE CHARLESTON –
Change is not always received well and it is often difficult to put into practice - especially if it involves the end of a process that has been in place for a long period of time. However, developing a new way to do things can often yield positive outcomes.
Almost five years ago, the Air Force adopted Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO21). For those of you who are unfamiliar, it is a unique process improvement program used to increase efficiency and spur continuous enhancement in an organization. Mr. Bob Langston leads the AFSO21 efforts for the 437th Airlift Wing.
A few weeks ago, Lt. Col. Scott D'Antoni led 12 team members in an AFSO21 event that aimed to improve the local flying scheduling process. Mr. Langston and Tech. Sgt. Neal Dion served as facilitators for the event. This event aimed to enhance aircrew currency and overall fleet health. The end result led to the generation of a plan that included such action items as minimizing/reducing weekend locals and standardizing aircrew scheduler processes.
Last week, I traveled to Scott Air Force Base, Ill., to serve as the Team Lead in the Aircrew Safe Operations Initiative AFSO21 event. Other Team Charleston members in attendance were Mr. Langston, who facilitated the event and Lt. Col. Charley Richardson, 315th Airlift Wing, who served as one of the team members. Individuals traveled from all throughout Air Mobility Command and in the end, 14 units were represented at this event. The group spent the week examining the AMC and 18 AF environments of standards, training, and supervision in order to identify improvement opportunities to maintain safe operations while enhancing the culture of compliance.
I encourage you to seek ways to streamline processes and increase efficiency in your units - whether it's improving the means of doing a simple daily task or playing a role in the implementation of a large-scale procedure change. However, we need to remember not to sacrifice safety. A few days ago, Chief Greene and I observed Staff Sgt. Marc Begay and SrA. Alexander Mack replacing a fuel control unit on an Auxiliary Power Unit at 2 a.m. They were wearing their appropriate safety gear and complying with standards even at a time when they expected no one to be watching. Exactly what I wanted to see! Fly safe!