Total Force effort helps ensure mission effectiveness at McConnell

by Capt. Zach Anderson
931st Air Refueling Group Public Affairs

7/7/2014 - MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- In the world of aircrew operations, it's essential that the men and women conducting the mission are able to perform when called upon. The job of ensuring aircrews are ready and effective at all times falls on the men and women of the McConnell Air Force Base Standard/Evaluation Office.

"Our mission is to validate aircrew mission effectiveness and readiness," said Lt. Col. Travis Clark, 931st Air Refueling Group Chief of Standard/Evaluation. "That is our basic tasking. We work directly for the commander and we feed that information back to him. He needs to know his troops can accomplish their assigned mission effectively and properly while maintaining the highest standards of mission readiness."

According to Clark, getting that information is done in a variety of manners, including annual evaluations of aircrew members that involve both testing for book knowledge as well as "check rides" to evaluate flying and operational skills.

"We look to see if they can get the job done, and if they can do it by the book," said Clark. "We also measure trends so if we notice a positive or a negative trend, we relay that information to the commander to give him a pulse on how his crews are doing. It's all about making sure our aircrews are meeting the set requirements when operating the jets."

When it comes to meeting those requirements, the same standards apply to active duty as well as reserve aircrews. For that reason, the Air Force Reserve 931 ARG and the active duty 22nd Air Refueling Wing have found it beneficial to work together as a Total Force team to maximize the capabilities of both standard/evaluation programs. The two offices co-located in December 2013, and Clark said the initiative is paying large dividends.

"The Total Force Initiative for our offices really helps us both," said Clark. "One of the biggest things we as reservists can provide for our active duty counterparts is continuity. The active duty is constantly changing personnel, and we are a bit more stable. With us being here, we help by maintaining vital program elements to ensure consistency. This in turn provides a more efficient 'spin up' time for new office personnel. In essence, they don't constantly have to reinvent the wheel."

Maj. Scot Stewart, 22 ARW Chief of Standard/Evaluation, said the Total Force effort is invaluable for the base program.

"It provides for better overall mission effectiveness for McConnell as a whole," said Stewart. "The whole point of standard/evaluation is to standardize processes and give the crew the tools they need to safely execute the mission. The more experience we have to draw from, the better we are able to accomplish that. By leveraging both the active duty and the reserve resources, we are able to make the entire operation better."

One of the largest Total Force Initiatives undertaken by the offices was the electronic flight bag program. The 931 ARG took the lead in transitioning required aircrew publications and regulations to electronic tablets, which means aircrew members no longer have to carry large volumes of publications in their flight bags.

"They have completely taken over that program," said Stewart. "They take care of it for us, and it's a huge thing they've taken off our plate. On top of that, they assist us with our flight crew information files, on setting up testing and computer systems...it's really been a beneficial partnership all around."

Clark said the entire idea of the Total Force Initiative between the two offices is to make the aircrews of both the reserve and active duty components better able to accomplish the mission of McConnell.

"This program works because we are both willing to help each other out in all aspects of standards and evaluations," said Clark. "We can provide experience and continuity, and the active duty can provide support and manpower as needed. We've really become so valuable to each other that if one of us were to pull out and no longer support the other, it would have an immediate detrimental impact to things here. What we are doing is definitely making the overall program better for the entire base."