AMC commander: 'I'm suggesting we change the rules'

by Tyler Grimes
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

1/31/2014 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill.  -- If it doesn't make sense, stop doing it.

Gen. Paul Selva, Air Mobility Command commander, shared this sentiment with 1,500 members of his headquarters staff during a virtual "all-call," Jan. 10.

"Airmen in our wings tell me the most frustrating thing is to hear us say, 'there are things that we are doing that we shouldn't be doing, and [then] our headquarters tells us we have to keep doing them,' " the general said.

He suggested Airmen at all levels look for ways to improve operations even if their ideas do not fit within current regulations.

"I'm not suggesting we break the rules, I'm suggesting we change the rules," he said.

The general noted there are 193 Air Mobility Command supplements to countless Air Force Instructions that dictate Air Force policy. Within Air Mobility Command alone, there are 513 forms in use for daily operations.

Those pages of regulations can sometimes be an impediment to both efficiency and effectiveness.

For changes to happen, senior leaders need to be open to Airmen offering new ways to get the mission done, the general told the staff on the virtual meeting.

"We don't know everything-we've haven't learned everything, we ought to be listening to their ideas," Selva said.

"My take is we need to get the AFIs right," he said, emphasizing that Airmen have a responsibility to ask for changes to Air Force Instructions that are needed to meet the ever-evolving mission demands.