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Commander reflects on past year

  • Published
  • By Karen Petitt
  • 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  It's been just over a year since Col. Gary Goldstone took command of the 375th Airlift Wing, and he recently took time to reflect on the wing's accomplishments and work yet to be done. 

As commander, one of the first objectives this past year was to help clearly define how the wing Enables Combat Power. To do that, senior leaders from the wing met to discuss and outline a strategy map and develop a balanced score card. 

The wing's vision is to provide precise combat capability to the warfighter ... always, so leadership outlined the components of that capability: "We lift, we support, and we send." 

"In the past, we've always developed goals that show what we're going to do. The strategy map helps us to put those goals in order and spells out how we're going to achieve and evaluate them. It also is a tool to assess priorities and where to focus our resources" he said. 

As part of the strategy map awareness campaign, pocket cards have been passed out to wing members to remind them of those wing missions and highlight the customers they serve. 

Colonel Goldstone explained how varied the customer base is for this wing. 

"Distinguished visitors and senior leaders depend on the wing to provide precise and reliable airlift. Our wounded warriors rely on us to get them home where they can be treated and cared for. Our support teams provide superior services for all our wing and tenant units, as well as ensure a quality of life and work environments through a robust infrastructure," he said. 

The most important work the wing performs though, he added, is that of providing combatant commanders with fully-trained Airmen who understand, embrace and execute the joint expeditionary mindset and mission. 

"We can have the best programs, but it all means nothing without people who can carry out the mission. Preparing Airmen for the front lines and supporting them on the home front is truly the most important thing we do." 

The wing continues to focus on Air Force Smart Operations, or AFSO 21, and has seen many successes with streamlining customer processes during his first year in command. One such focus area has been to reduce the amount of time required for issuing the Common Access Cards to Team Scott. It used to take an average of 50 minutes to get a card issued and now due to an improved process and appointment scheduling options, the time is now only 5-7 minutes. Those who need to just walk in may end up waiting about 20 minutes. Other success areas have been with reducing lead time for acquiring service contracts, initiating e-tickets for security police to reduce routing times, and improvements made with aircraft bookkeeping, travel, communications and legal services as well. 

"It's still a challenging environment, but one that we must continue to put the time and energy into so we can keep moving forward with these types of successes." 

As the commander looks ahead to the next year, the key event for the wing will be the Operational Readiness Inspection in March. He said he appreciates all the work going into preparations for the ORI because not only will it help the team be ready to respond and operate in that wartime environment, but it helps keep skills sharp for the day-to-day mission. 

Also on the horizon are the continued efforts with the Scott Family Health Clinic as it undergoes major renovations to meet the Air Force Medical Service's Family Health Initiative. That initiative provides robust care and continuity of providers while the Air Force outsources services normally provided in larger hospitals, such as surgeries, and labor and delivery services for example. 

The wing also continues to manage its C-21 fleet, which was reduced from 50 aircraft and 157 pilots to now 20 aircraft and 63 pilots, all with the same level of deployment taskings as previous manning levels. The wing is working to ensure there's efficiency in training, flying requirements and the way missions are scheduled to meet mission requirements. 

Along with maintaining a heavy ops tempo, the wing is set to welcome a new refueling squadron this fall. Teams are finalizing plans for the 906th Air Refueling Squadron, which is designated as an associate unit--active duty pilots, boom operators and maintainers who work on aircraft owned by the 126th Air Refueling Wing (Guard). 

"Those are just a few of the things that we will be working as we look at what the next 12 months will bring. I just want to take this opportunity to thank the men and women of Team Scott for all they do and for the support they've given to me and my family this first year. I look forward to a fun-filled yet very busy future."