This unit lost 33 percent of its workforce but had its workload cut by only 20 percent—the classic “do more with less.” So it did. The airmen of the 354th Maintenance Squadron’s Aerospace Ground Equipment Flight at Eielson AFB, Alaska, took the service’s new Air Force Smart Operations 21 to heart and found a way to streamline its operation without sacrificing quality. According to SMSgt. Daniel Morin, 354th MXS superintendent, “This flight has achieved the perfect AFSO21 model for the Air Force.” He said their new operating mode created production channels that are “clear, simple, and with purpose.” And, MSgt. Matthew Hopwood, the flight chief, said the new process reduced on-the-job training time from 15 months to just five months. This was one AFSO21 success story (and there are others), but as noted in Air Force Magazine’s January “Issue Brief,” can USAF sustain the momentum? There is a point where one simply cannot do more with less. (Eielson report by A1C Christopher Griffin)
Clearing jungle and laying asphalt in tropical heat may not sound like fun to most people, but it’s a way of life for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Airmen, who have spent the past year or so restoring World War II-era airfields on the Pacific…