The Air National Guard's Strategic Planning System steering committee hosts quarterly meeting

by By Maj. Mary L. Harrington, ANG, PA Advisor to the DANG and CCM

11/21/2014 - PENTAGON -- The steering committee for the Air National Guard's Strategic Planning System (SPS) held a quarterly meeting on November 19-20, 2014 at the Pentagon Library.

Air National Guard (ANG) SPS members include regional leaders who provide strategic guidance for the Director of the Air National Guard (DANG), Lt. Gen. Stanley E. Clarke, III.

The steering committee members assemble quarterly to share field-driven updates for strategy development and direction.  "We do not make decisions about man power or equipment...we are strictly a forward thinking, strategic, field-driven advisory group," said Brig. Gen. Jon Kelk, Assistant Adjutant General, California Air National Guard and outgoing chair of SPS.

Highlights of the meeting included a change of SPS leadership.  The chair changed from Kelk to Brig. Gen. Kevin W. Bradley, New York Air National Guard.  The vice chair changed from Brig. Gen. John E. McCoy, Wisconsin Air National Guard, to Brig. Gen. Robert L. Shannon, Jr., Georgia Air National Guard.

"It was an honor to chair the SPS steering committee for the past two years; it was an enlightening experience. I believe we were very effective in our efforts to provide strategic guidance for the DANG and The Adjutants General, and I am very pleased to have finalized the latest version of our Strategic Master Plan," said Kelk.

The initial Strategic Master Plan, which will be updated every two years, has been distributed to National Guard Joint Force Headquarters and ANG Wing leadership.  The SMP is an ANG twenty-year forward look, from 2015 to 2035; the document intends to provide "a guiding path of ANG contributions necessary for an agile Air Force to adapt to rapidly changing strategic environments and provide for the security needs of the nation," with an emphasis on the ANG's role in the total force, the strengths of the  ANG(unit- equipped, community based, dual-use, cost-effective, and experienced), and the deliberate development of Guard Airmen.

Meeting updates included State Partnership Programs, presented by Maj. Gen. Donald A. McGregor, National Guard Bureau director of policy, strategy, plans and international affairs; an AF Strategic Overview, presented by Maj. Gen. David W. Allvin, Director of Strategy, Concepts, and Assessments, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force; the Total Force Continuum, presented by Brig. Gen. Timothy J. Cathcart, Special Assistant to the Director, Air National Guard; The Adjutants General (TAG) update, presented by Maj. Gen. Steven A. Cray, TAG, Vermont; Geographically Separated Units, presented by Brig. Gen. Kenneth L. Gammon, Chief of Staff, Utah National Guard; and updates from the Priority Chairs, Air Director Field Advisory Council (ADFAC), Director of Staff, Air Component (DOSAC), and the Enlisted Field Advisory Council (EFAC).