Force improvement at the grass-roots level

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Lauren Pitts
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Members of the Force Improvement Program team visited Minot Air Force Base as their first stop during their round-robin visit to each Air Force Global Strike Command ICBM base Feb. 16-19.

The Force Improvement Program, directed by AFGSC commander, Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, is designed to get feedback from the grass-roots level, examining issues affecting missile bases and their crew forces. The teams plan to obtain their data through interviews held with their peers at each ICBM base.

"The idea is for Airmen to have a face-to-face interview with their peers," said Col. Michael Tichenor, FIP team leader. "We want Airman to Airman, Staff Sergeant to Staff Sergeant, career field to career field."

The team is composed of 65 members, ranking between junior enlisted to captain, split into their specialties of ICBM operations, security forces, support, maintenance and helicopter operations. These five sub-teams are also augmented by peers from outside the ICBM community, such as U.S. Navy submariners and U.S. Air Force pilots.

Going into the interviews, the team members speak with Airmen who share like specialties, looking to identify any issues and identifying potential solutions, which the team can report back to AFGSC and 20th Air Force commanders.

"Interviewees just talk openly about what issues they see and any solutions they have on their minds," Tichenor said.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Maurer, a support flight chief with the 791st Missile Security Forces Squadron here, was one of the Airmen chosen as an interviewee.

"The communication was very professional and felt constructive," Maurer said. "I know my voice will be heard."

After interviewing about 1,000 Airmen at each base, the team will compile all the data and begin drawing out common threads and ideas for improvement as perceived by the crew force, explained Tichenor. These findings will then be compared to results of ongoing FIP surveys (from 20th Air Force writ large, ICBM field leaders and 20th Air Force members' families). Together, the interview and survey results will allow the FIP teams to provide the AFGSC and 20th Air Force commanders with meaningful findings and recommendations.

"Our goal is to give General Wilson ideas of quick changes to implement almost immediately as well as recommendations for broader, long-term changes to improve the missile world," Tichenor said.

Although the mission of the FIP team is to name quick key changes to be made, they are also looking for ideas that will be enduring and may take time to implement, Tichenor added.

"We may need help from big Air Force on how to address some ideas, however, General Wilson will be the one who says, 'we can or cannot do that,'" Tichenor said.

The findings and recommendations from FIP will be briefed to Wilson at F.E. Warren Air Force Base March 3 and then presented to the SECAF and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force in early March.

"This is the first grass-roots-level effort of this type and gives unfiltered data to the commander," Tichenor said. "On General Wilson's list, this is number one."