TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- When Col. Allan Day arrived at Tinker nearly a year ago, he was excited to be a part of history -- the standup of the Air Force Sustainment Center. Now, as he prepares for his next assignment at the Pentagon, he said he will miss Tinker Air Force Base, the surrounding community, and the AFSC. He has learned so much and looks forward to future sustainment center updates and developments.

The AFSC vice commander and his family of eight are venturing to Washington, D.C., where Colonel Day will succeed Col. Evan Miller as the deputy director of Resource Integration, or A4/7P, under Lt. Gen. Judith Fedder.

"This past year has been a phenomenal leadership laboratory experience. Working for Lt. Gen. Bruce Litchfield, AFSC commander, and Ross Marshall, AFSC executive director, has been an opportunity to study under two of the greatest logisticians the Air Force has," the colonel said. "To see how they operated, led and managed significant challenges daily during the largest reorganization the Air Force has seen in 20 years and how they went from vision, to action, to actualization was very instructive. I'm privileged to have been a part of this amazing transformation of the Air Force logistics enterprise."

When Colonel Day arrived at Tinker from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, where he commanded the former 309th Maintenance Wing, he said he looked forward to watching the sustainment center grow and change.

Yet, what he couldn't foresee was just how much this massive, geographically dispersed enterprise would embrace the new cultural norms and begin to operate as a single team. He said he now sees the 27 percent improvement in aircraft production as just the beginning of achieving art of the possible results across the center.

"Recently General Litchfield gave us a challenge to come up with a way to show how AFSC's culture has transformed thus far and to bring those changes alive in less than a day. Through briefings and tours we came up with a format to tell the AFSC story in just a few hours. This new format shows just how integrated and reliant we are on each other and our external partners like Defense Logistics Agency, Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, and industry," Colonel Day said. "We got the chance to showcase the AFSC story for the Air Force inspector general recently. He left with a great appreciation for how we do business and the significant transformation that has already taken place across AFSC."

But, this transformation hasn't been easy. The sustainment center is a large, multifaceted organization with many unique business areas including supply, maintenance, depot and air base wings.

"I really had to study to understand how cost-effective readiness plays out across supply and maintenance," the colonel said. "That comes down to not only understanding working capital fund for both supply and maintenance, but also how the working capital fund fits into the Air Force planning, programing, budgeting, and execution structure. It was clear to me that it takes a strong, integrated team to pull it all together."

The colonel said the sustainment center will continue to thrive in years to come. While he won't be here to see the changes first-hand, he said he looks forward to staying plugged in and keeping up with the progress.

"I just can't wait to see what this operation will be like a year from now," the colonel said. "A year ago, I couldn't see clearly where this organization would be, but I knew it would be amazing because the leadership team was absolutely first class. We've come a long way already, but we've got so much more potential and many more capabilities that we can bring to the Air Force problem sets."

Colonel Day said the lessons learned and the experiences gained have made him a better leader. In his new role, he needs to understand acquisition, supply and maintenance, and how it all comes together for the Air Force logistics enterprise.

"Knowing what we've done here in the Air Force Materiel Command and the Air Force Sustainment Center specifically, will help me tell the new logistics story at the Air Force level," he said. "As it turns out, this year as the AFSC vice was the perfect set-up job for my next assignment."

Despite the new adventure and challenge that lie ahead, Colonel Day will be missed.
"Colonel Day was an invaluable member of the AFSC leadership team. He was responsible for integrating many critical processes into our mission sets and creating opportunities for success at many levels," said General Litchfield. "His next assignment in the Pentagon is key to our future success. I know what Allan learned in AFSC provides an excellent foundation and will serve our Air Force well. We wish him, his wife Barbara, and their entire family all the best."

Mr. Marshall agreed.

"Colonel Day has been a great partner in the front office. He was a perfect fit as our center vice commander and he made a significant positive difference," said Mr. Marshall. "He's a fantastic leader and he brought energy and enthusiasm to the sustainment center every single day. He's a true professional and he'll be missed, but he's going to play a key role in our Air Force as he goes to work on the Air Staff. He won't be a stranger to our business."