Fact-finding mission brings assistant SECAF to Tinker Published Jan. 31, 2006 By Darren D. Heusel 72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFMCNS) -- The recently appointed Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics visited Tinker Air Force Base Jan. 18-20 to gather some all-important facts before his first briefing to Congress next month. "I've only been on the job about 70 days and I made a commitment at my Senate confirmation hearing to do some extensive travel and get briefed on the Air Force as much as I possibly could in my first 90 days," said William C. Anderson, who comes to the Air Force after serving in a variety of positions with the General Electric Co. "A big part of what my position is all about involves logistics and the depots," he added. "So, I really want the opportunity to dig in to the three major installations [under Air Force Materiel Command] and understand the successes we've had in the areas of lean transformation and process improvement. I want to help facilitate us getting better." Mr. Anderson said he views Tinker's role in supporting the warfighter now and in the future as one of continuing to ensure products are delivered on time with maximum reliability. "We need to continue to limit the downtime on equipment the warfighter needs to support their efforts," he said. "Obviously, as one of the three major depots in the Air Force, a key part of that responsibility falls on the men and women right here at Tinker." As the Air Force's key leader in the installation, environment and logistics arena, the Syracuse, N.Y. native said his goals for the Air Force are to continue to be good stewards of taxpayer money and to continue to make process improvements across the board. "With the challenges that lay ahead for us in terms of stewardship of dollars and cost, we need to make sure we have the financial rigor and discipline to make the best decisions in an environment when sometimes we have to make tough calls," he said. "We need to continue to make efficient choices so that we can squeeze everything we can out of every dollar. "We also need to institutionalize the concepts of productivity and process improvement across the Air Force and not just be satisfied with what's been done in manufacturing-type arenas like depot maintenance. We need to take those lessons learned and best practices from individual organizations and use those same concepts around the total Air Force." Mr. Anderson said he was impressed with the awareness and understanding of Team Tinker members regarding how important environmental stewardship is. "I've been impressed by the fact that there's a thirst for knowledge of how to do better," he said. "We've done some pretty good work on the environmental side, but that doesn't mean we're anywhere near the finish line. "I've also been impressed by the openness of folks to look at other ideas and other ways of doing things to constantly get better." With more budget cuts on the horizon, Mr. Anderson said he doesn't see logistical matters being affected at the base level "so long as the supply chain part, or business end of the Air Force, continues to employ the tools they've already embraced." With continued emphasis on Six Sigma, Lean and other transformation tools, Mr. Anderson said he believes warfighters will continue to receive the logistics support they need. "No matter what gets thrown at us, if we use these tools effectively, it's not going to affect our ability to provide logistics services or supply services well into the future," he said.