Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
4/25/2014
After surveying its ICBM force as part of a widespread force improvement program, the Air Force is turning its eyes to its bomber wings. Lt. Col. John Sheets, director of Public Affairs at Air Force Global Strike Command, confirmed this week that the service’s bomber wings would take part in the Air Force’s Force Improvement Program, which produced approximately 330 recommendations to improve morale among its ICBM force earlier this year. The program was instituted in the wake of a cheating scandal among the ICBM ranks and concerns about “systemic” problems among the ICBM force from Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James. “This is not an investigation like we had going on for the test compromise,” Sheets told NS&D Monitor. “This is basically focused on getting those ideas, suggestions, and recommendations by the airmen who are doing this job day to day. If they could change things to make things better on a day-to-day basis, what would they do?”
Sheets said the force improvement program will take place in May and June for the bomber force, and he said Global Strike Command headquarters will undergo the same process in the late summer. “We want to look to see if there are things we can do better in our other mission areas,” Sheets said. “It’s like any organization would want to empower its employees. It’s not just a military organization that would want to do this. It’s to get those ideas from the bottom and empower all our airmen.” He added: “I can’t speculate on what they would come up with on the bomber side but there is always room for improvement.”
No More Perfection Pressure in Testing Program
Sheets said some of the 330 recommendations for the ICBM force began being implemented April 2, though he said some were easier to implement than others. One thing that Global Strike Command has already addressed is the issue of perfection in its testing program. Previously, 90 percent was the passing standard, but missileers felt pressured to be perfect on the test, which helped contribute to a cheating scandal that involved 79 missileers at Malmstrom Air Force Base and led to the removal of nine leaders and the resignation of the commander of the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom. The testing program has been changed to pass/fail.
Speaking at an event this week at the National Press Club, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said the underlying concern of airmen was “that if you don’t score 100 percent, you’re seen as not being competent enough to move on to other jobs. And so the only assessment your commander has of you is your test score every month, which is a pretty tough environment to be operating in.” Welsh added: “That’s already been changed. And there will be a lot more changes as we move through this. But the goal is to, number one, take that honest look in the mirror, admit where we are and then let’s change the game. … Our people deserve better than that.”
Sheets said other recommendations will take longer to address, like how security forces are equipped and what is the right mix of equipment and gear because it will take time to work through various procurements. Welsh also said there was an effort to empower airmen at the lowest levels. “We’re trying hard to eliminate an idea of you can never make a decision; your most-senior boss always has to be the one making the call,” he said. “There are a lot of things we ought to be doing in that business at the lowest levels of authority, and we’re trying to push it there.”
