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Team effort needed to make center Air Force’s airpower A-Team

  • Published
  • By Micah Garbarino
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center wants to be the Air Force's "A-Team" in providing airpower to the warfighter.

The center's mission is to "deliver and sustain airpower...anytime, anyplace." As part of that A-Team, the Plans and Programs directorate are the ones that "love it when a plan comes together."

"Plans and Programs is the intersection for so much that goes on with the strategic goals. We don't own all the pieces, but we are in a position to see all of the moving parts," said Col. Randall Burke, commander of OC-ALC/XP. "So, the fourth goal is an overarching roadmap that supports all the other goals."

The organization, known in Air Force jargon as XP, is the champion of the OC-ALC's fourth strategic goal, to "improve mission readiness and support."

The first objective of this goal is to "maximize the Tinker Air Force complex."

"We are in a resource-constrained environment. We need to get the most out of what we have, whether that's people, money or facilities. We need to demolish the facilities we don't need, maintain the ones we do need, plan for new facilities and sometimes rearrange the facilities we have to make them more efficient," Colonel Burke said.

"Resource conservation" is one of the objective's focus areas. Tinker is the largest consumer of energy in the Air Force, spending more than $62,000 daily on electricity alone. While there are many contributing factors, this is a list that an installation doesn't want to top, Col. Burke said. The 72nd Air Base Wing's Civil Engineer Directorate is taking steps to move the base down on that list.

Recently, the CE Directorate started a "How Low Can You Go?" campaign, encouraging people to shut down electronics over long holiday weekends. Columbus Day saw a 24-percent drop in energy usage over last year. And the "Fueling the Mission" campaign is seeking signatures from people pledging to be more energy conscious. These are just two of the directorate's ongoing conservation programs. This conservation culture is yielding results.

"We're seeing great suggestions for new conservation efforts from the workforce. People want to get involved and make a difference," said Gene Gallogly, 72nd ABW/CE director.

"Posturing the center for emerging workloads" is another focus area that helps the Air Logistics Center prepare for the Air Force's new technologies and acquire the proper equipment to modernize existing weapons systems.

"We must have the appropriate people trained and the infrastructure in place to support the work. All of this takes planning. If you were building a house, you wouldn't want the roofers to show up before the walls had been framed," Col. Burke said.

The second objective is to "improve the Air Force nuclear enterprise."

"We are actively engaged in refining the focus of the center's role in the nuclear enterprise," said Col. Mallory Knight, deputy director of the OC-ALC Engineering and Technical Management Directorate. "We are aggressively addressing issues to align our people, process, resources and training to maintain compliance and strict attention to detail the Air Force demands when it comes to the nuclear enterprise."

The OC-ALC performs depot maintenance, modifications, upgrades and logistical support for the B-2, B-52 and cruise missile weapons systems. All of these platforms provide the United States with nuclear capabilities.

The third objective is to "improve expeditionary operations." This is what the recent Operational Readiness Inspection focused on. How well can the OC-ALC carry out a deployment of personnel and cargo and conduct deployment-centered operations?

"It's important to know that we can actually get people from here to the front lines," said Col. Herbert Wesselman, 72nd Mission Support Group commander. "Our folks need to be prepared, which means that they have everything from the proper vaccinations, personal protective equipment, required training and even the right kind of bug spray."

A big piece of that preparation is making sure that members are medically ready to deploy - reviewing medical and dental records and conducting examinations. If an Airman arrives at the deployed location in dire need of a root canal, it could hold up the mission. The 72nd Medical Group at Tinker makes sure that does not happen.

"We measure our success by feedback and reports from the deployed location. In the past two years we have received no reports of medical discrepancies. So, we're doing very well in that area," said Col. Robert Marks, 72nd MDG commander.

To reduce deployment-related discrepancies, Colonel Wesselman said unit deployment managers are using standardized processes and procedures and coordinating with the Installation Deployment Officer to ensure that everyone's checklists are completed before they leave Tinker. By meeting all the objectives of the fourth strategic goal, the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center will "improve mission readiness and support" and continue to carry out the Air Force mission - whenever, however needed. And that's how a plan comes together.

Editor's note: This is the last in a series of articles dedicated to the strategic goals of the OC-ALC. For more on the goals, visit Tinker's internal Web page.