Force Improvement Program comes to 8th AF

by Airman 1st Class Joseph Raatz
Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs

6/30/2014 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Air Force Global Strike Command's Force Improvement Program team concluded their tour of the command's bomber bases and gathered to present their findings here, June 29.

The FIP team gathered an immense amount of data from the Airmen out in the field, conducting more than 1,700 interviews and nearly 4,500 surveys. These efforts are designed to give leadership a grass-roots perspective on the state of the command.

"Believe it or not, we don't know everything up here at the headquarters," Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, AFGSC commander, said. "The people out there doing the mission, the NCOs and company-grade officers and the Airmen out in the field, they know the mission better than anyone. So let's listen to them."

The Force Improvement Program, originally created to investigate challenges within the ICBM force and to make substantial and lasting changes, was recently adapted to the bomber community after it proved successful in the missile field.

At the heart of the FIP are the functional-cultural working groups, which sit down with Airmen in the field to have frank discussions about their concerns and to listen to suggestions, explained Lt. Col. Russell Williford, FIP director. Each working group focuses on a specific area of the bomber force, covering the areas of operations, security forces, mission support and maintenance. By going to each base and interviewing the people who are hands-on with the mission, the teams hope to get unfiltered feedback.

"My mantra has always been 'I can't fix something unless I know about it,'" said Maj. Gen. Scott VanderHamm, 8th Air Force commander. "So I look at this as another opportunity to get after the things I may not know about."

The FIP team also coordinated with members of Air Combat Command, U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, and select U.S. Navy personnel. This allowed the FIP team to draw on a vastly larger pool of experience and expertise.

"This is really a following-up, to validate to the Secretary [of the Air Force] and the Chief [of Staff of the Air Force] and to the American public that we're doing things right," VanderHamm said.

The FIP survey of the ICBM field garnered more than 300 recommendations, 98 percent of which were approved for implementation. Air Force leaders hope the FIP will be just as successful in the bomber community.

"The biggest thing that will come out of this is empowerment. At the end of the day, it's about empowering our people to do their jobs," Wilson said. "When people believe in the change and you empower them, get out of the way because they can do just about anything."