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Gen McMahon visits Fairchild

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kali L. Gradishar
  • 92nd ARW Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century is no secret to Team Fairchild, as there have already been several initiatives approved since the programs inception. Fairchild got the chance to show its progress as a changing force to Brig. Gen. Robert McMahon, Air Mobility Command Director of Logistics, this week during his visit to the base. 

The 92nd Maintenance Group alone has participated in approximately 15 AFSO 21 events, which include AFSO 21-related projects, Rapid Improvement Events, projects that typically takes three months of planning, and "Just Do It" initiatives, which require significantly less coordination. Recent AFSO 21 initiatives involve discovering a way to reduce the amount of time it takes to generate aircraft and finding an effective way to remove debris from designated areas. 

General McMahon was able to view a number of base facilities, but focused his visit on maintenance and logistic readiness at Fairchild, along with the essential changes being made and ideas being implemented to work in an Air Force with fewer Airmen, more responsibility and higher expectations. 

"The reality is that we have less people, less money and less aircraft. With fewer resources, accomplishing the mission becomes more difficult. There is an insatiable appetite for what the Air Mobility Command can provide," said General McMahon. 

With fewer resources, it is necessary to find a better way to conduct operations so that each unit is still capable of performing the mission and meeting specific requirements.
"Somehow the Air Force has to harmonize the loss of all these resources," said General McMahon, "but we can't ask folks to work harder because they are working as hard as they can. So, we have to work smarter. That is what AFSO 21 is about, and it is absolutely essential.' 

"As I walked through the Mission Support Group and the Maintenance Group, I found we are making progress and streamlining our processes," said the general. There is still a long way to go, but Fairchild is on the journey to where it needs to be as an integral part of a leaner, more efficient Air Force. 

General McMahon was able to speak with Airmen across maintenance and logistics organizations during breakfast at the Warrior Dining Facility on Monday. His message to the Airmen was that they are the ones who can truly make the difference. 

Noncommissioned officers and other military leaders can provide the environment for Airmen to make the changes, but the Airmen are the ones who are the force behind making the processes more efficient. 

"Our Airmen can make a difference, they are making a difference, they are helping change the way we do business and they are particularly successful in the organizations where the leadership chain encourages their involvement in making the organization better," said the general. 

General McMahon gave his thoughts on where the Air Force has gone in the past and where it will possibly go in the future. 

"The Air Force has changed dramatically in the nearly 29 years I have been on active duty. We have come a long way since 1978 in the diversity of our Air Force. We are 40 to 45 percent smaller than when I first came in. At the same time, the complexity of how we operate has gone up extensively," said the general. 

"We have to be prepared differently than we were in the past. We have to be more agile, more expeditionary and more flexible, and we have to gain greater battlefield awareness," he said. 

In the next ten years, the general says he believes the United States will still be actively engaged in the Global War on Terrorism. The Air Force will have to work very aggressively to combat the faceless enemy, do so with significantly less resources, and still continue to improve and perfect. 

General McMahon placed considerable emphasis on the importance of charging into the future and increasing our capabilities to adapt to an ever-changing adversary. 

"We are the greatest air and space power and we cannot be lulled into thinking that we do not have to get better. We have to be significantly better than everyone," he said.
The general commended Fairchild's leadership team as one that cares about the mission, as well as about the people who support the mission. 

"I found Airmen who are highly motivated and fully prepared for whatever challenges the Air Force threw at them," said the general. 

Fairchild was able to show General McMahon that the base has put its foot in the door and is pushing through to a future of change and challenge with Airmen who are willing and capable of completing the task.