AFMC Command News

AFMC leaders meet to plan command's future

  • Published
  • By John Scaggs
  • Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFMCNS) --  An acquisition, corporate, logistics and sustainment “meeting of the minds” took place here Jan. 26-27 to discuss Air Force Materiel Command’s path ahead and how the application of Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century can help.

Headquarters AFMC hosted 73 people from AFMC agencies, IBM, Deloitte Consulting and Rand Corp., as part of the command’s fifth Sustainment Transformation Senior Leadership Conference. The sessions provided attendees with a clear understanding of the sustainment transformation vision, concept of operations and roadmap.

AFSO21 is one of the tools AFMC will use to improve support to customers while simultaneously reducing required resources. This initiative was launched by Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne to make the Air Force more efficient and effective. 

Gen. Bruce Carlson, AFMC commander, provided opening remarks and stated that we are going to change behaviors in AFMC and as a result of those behavior changes AFSO21 will become part of AFMC’s culture. 

“The Air Force’s recapitalization challenge will drive what AFMC does for the next decade,” the general said. “The average age of our aircraft is more than 23 years. That increases operational and maintenance costs while decreasing readiness. The Air Force must modernize its fleet of aging aircraft if we are going to continue to fly, fight and win America’s wars.” 

The response to this challenge is AFSO21, emphasized General Carlson. 

“We have pockets of continuous process improvement using tools like Lean at our air logistics centers,” he said. “But we must now take our efforts to an enterprise-wide level … across not only our air logistics centers, but also the Air Force Research Lab and our product, test and specialized centers. 

“By examining our processes, which affect our strategic outcomes, and applying an analytic approach, which focuses on continuous process improvement, we’ll produce dynamic Air Force-wide results through improved efficiencies,” General Carlson said. 

As the conference drew to a close, General Carlson asked his commanders and directors to recommend two processes for improvement by Feb. 9. Commanders and directors will provide a progress update during AFMC’s spring commanders’ conference March 27. 

The general stressed that he is committed to creating an environment that inspires trust, innovation and a passion for achieving improved performance. 

“”My goal is unprecedented cross-functional integration that will yield previously unimagined success,” General Carlson said. “I am counting on everyone within this command to take us there.” 

AFMC hosts senior leadership sessions to gain active participation, leadership and commitment from the command’s senior leaders. Cross-flow of information helps facilitate the increased understanding of sustainment transformation.