Force Improvement Program progresses to bomber community

by Carla Pampe
Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs

5/29/2014 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Building upon the positive momentum of the ICBM Force Improvement Program, Air Force Global Strike Command is bringing the program to its bomber units.

Five FIP teams will visit bomber units at Barksdale, Minot and Whiteman Air Force bases, where they are tasked with identifying any challenges associated with performing bomber duties and working with Airmen to propose solutions. In addition, FIP teams will visit AFGSC bomber Airmen at Andersen AB, Guam, and Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. The bomber FIP will also include Total Force B-52 and B-2 units from Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard.

"This is yet another opportunity for us to improve the way we do business in the nuclear community," Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, AFGSC commander, said. "Like the ICBM FIP, it will allow Airmen at all levels to provide honest feedback on issues facing their community, as well as proposals for solutions to those issues."

During their visits, the teams will conduct field surveys, leadership surveys and family surveys, and personally interview Airmen across the bomb wings.

As with the ICBM FIP, the teams are comprised of operations, maintenance, security forces, and mission support group members, as well as peers from outside the bomber community, including Airmen from other MAJCOMs and AFGSC missile wings.

After completing their round-robin base visits, the FIP team will assess the findings and recommendations from the field and provide a list of concerns and possible fixes across all the teams' functional areas. These will then be briefed directly to Wilson and Maj. Gen. Scott Vander Hamm, 8th Air Force commander, who will review the recommendations and make decisions on which field recommendations to implement.

As decisions are made, AFGSC leadership at every level will provide feedback to the field on their recommendations, and regular updates will be provided on force improvement program progress.

"This program is a growing process that has been strengthening the voice of all Airmen in Global Strike." Lt. Col. Russell Williford, FIP director, said. "It is, at its core, a program for its people, and Global Strike will be better because of the voice of its Airmen."