ARPC hosts Defense Council

by Lt. Col. Belinda Petersen
Air Reserve Personnel Center Public Affairs

3/28/2014 - BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- With a little bit of AC/DC music, hot breakfast burritos, and videos showcasing innovative Airmen from the Air Reserve Personnel Center, members of the Defense Council were treated to an early morning meeting that was anything but dull.

Brig. Gen. Samuel "Bo" Mahaney, ARPC commander, along with breakfast staff from the Hilton Garden Inn, hosted this month's Defense Council meeting at the ARPC conference room March 27.

"One of the things I've learned in my five months here is that ARPC is a premier organization made up of innovative Airmen who are experts in their field," Mahaney said. "That's the thing that strikes me is the innovation found in the center."

Defense Council is a committee of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce that is dedicated to building greater understanding between military and business communities in the local area. The committee is comprised of local business and military leaders and public servants to provide for the integration of military personnel into the local community.

The meeting was attended by nearly 100 people and included updates from base partner commanders, local and state organizations, planning partnership from the city of Aurora, and video presentations by Mahaney.

Through four fast-paced presentations, Mahaney highlighted the Air Force Reserve mission, the history of ARPC, how ARPC is creating the future, and virtualizing work such as force development.

"I'm used to seeing mission briefings and standard powerpoint slides, but Gen. Mahaney's presentations were very entertaining and enlightening," said George Peck, vice president, public affairs and operations of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. "I appreciated how he presented his concepts in a way that was easily understandable."

During his presentation, Mahaney explained that ARPC is moving from a brick and mortar concept to technological innovation. "Instead of focusing on what we're doing right here right now, we're thinking ahead - two years, five years, and 10 years, to what the future will look like for our customers," Mahaney said. "We've got to stay out in front of this thing. We are made up of Total Force Airmen of nearly 1 million customers, but we're going to transition into having about 1.3 million in the future. It's in our DNA to serve generations of Airmen."

To illustrate his point, Mahaney showed a video on virtual developmental team boards. By virtualizing these boards, senior leaders and career field managers can stay at their home station while still meeting together to develop and mentor Airmen in their careers.

"We are working on perfecting this process which will save money and travel time and keep people at their home station," said Lt. Col. Michael Ortiz, project manager team lead for this initiative. "Other agencies are beginning to see and coming here to learn how we do that here. That's why it's so important that we get this right."

Mahaney also talked about infrastructure. "We don't own the infrastructure; we are not the architect. But we are still responsible to our customers who rely heavily upon those systems. Therefore, we are their advocate, their champions. We will take the lead in repairing, correcting, and developing these systems," Mahaney said.

Mahaney concluded by stating that ARPC is a force of innovation. "We're taking today's challenges and converting those into tomorrow's solutions. I talk about ARPC as the thundering herd. Either get with us or get out of the way. If not, you know what happens," he said.

Lisa Buckley, Defense Council chair, thanked Mahaney for his presentations. "One of our goals is to identify common interests of the civilian and military populations and support efforts of mutual concern," said Buckley. "Thank you very much for everything that you and the thundering herd do."