Lenderman shares 375 AMW priorities Published March 23, 2016 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- During an all-call with Airmen on March 10 Col. Laura Lenderman, 375th Air Mobility Wing commander, shared her vision and wing priorities. She emphasized that every Airmen plays an important role and is essential to the success of rapid global mobility. "Scott Air Force Base is a unique installation. What happens here is felt around the globe. We support over 30 mission partners in their efforts to enable a global logistics network of air, land, and sea transport options for the Department of Defense," she said. "And our job is to provide mission-ready Airmen with world class capabilities to enable rapid global mobility." Her vision is for this wing to be "America's Premier Mobility Team--Powered by Deliberate Innovation, Communication and Excellence." Over the first seven months of her command, the team at Scott has worked together to make "ICE" more than just another acronym. Our base commander champions these efforts through recognition and programming initiatives. "The 375th is constantly developing creative solutions to our fiscal and operational challenges. We are creating transparency and clarity of message across all platforms; with each other; with our customers; with our suppliers; and with our mission partners. W e are making data-driven decisions that allow us to achieve the best possible results," she noted. "And we are doing all of this by working collaboratively to lift up our mission and to lift each other up at the same time." She explained that the mission of our wing does not change with new leadership. Instead, each command team addresses priorities that provide the necessary focus to perform at full capacity in the current environment. "By identifying priorities and clarifying roles and responsibilities within those priorities, all of us can participate in successfully realizing the mission at Scott. Whether you're serving in the dining facility keeping us fed; or working in the clinic keeping us healthy; linking us downrange and right at our desks to keep us connected; or flying a mission whenever and wherever we are needed ... all of these are examples of what it takes to enable and sustain rapid global mobility across the installation and around the world." She noted that General Sam Cox (18th Air Force Commander) recently said that nothing in this world happens without rapid global mobility. He stated, "We're the smallest force we've ever been. We're stationed mostly in the United States, and we have to get to the fight because operations are not slowing down. ... (E)verything starts, in terms of mobility, at Scott." Col. Lenderman stressed that the wing is focusing on ICE: Innovation, Communication and Excellence with emphasis on the following five priorities so that the 375th can perform to its full capacity in meeting the mission of the wing, the mission of the Air Mobility Command and the mission of the Air Force: EXECUTE AND STRENGTHEN OUR MISSION During the past year, AMC's "Showcase Wing" has deployed over 600 Airmen, transported over 1,800 distinguished visitors and 4,000 patients, and has flown 109 C-40 missions with the 932d Airlift Wing (Air Force Reserve Command) and 1,700 KC-135 sorties with the 126th Air Refueling Wing (IL Air National Guard). Wing personnel also maintained $4 billion dollars in infrastructure, enabling critical global communication nodes and provided medical care to over 59,000 St. Louis regional TRICARE beneficiaries. "This is part of executing our mission every day," she said. "And we are pursuing several initiatives to strengthen our abilities and improve our readiness even more." As just one example, the wing is working hard to increase airfield activity at Scott AFB. She explained that, after sequestration, there was less flying activity in the traffic pattern and on the airfield. This translates directly into decreased opportunities for readiness training for Airmen. However, she noted that in 2015, the Operations Group increased traffic flow by 25 percent to address this deficit. In addition, aeromedical evacuation personnel are continuing to modernize and innovate "care in the air" processes using advanced simulation training to sharpen mission readiness capabilities. Another aspect of this priority is the process of deepening the wing's community partnerships to grow and sustain the cyberspace mission across the installation. DEVELOP AND CARE FOR AIRMEN AND FAMILIES The standard of care for Airmen and Air Force families, she said, must include everything from providing professional development opportunities, to mentoring Airmen for their next responsibility, to sustaining mission-critical Childcare Development Centers, to ensuring robust programming through the Airman and Family Readiness Center as well as taking care of the necessities that "make our daily lives better." The wing is pursuing several initiatives on this front that include but are not limited to improving "access to care" at the Military Treatment Facility, purchasing new equipment for the Fitness Center and the James Gym, and offering deliberate professional development opportunities. She encourages Airmen to take advantage of the many "quality of life" programs and development and educational opportunities offered at Scott. And she encourages suggestions for ways that leadership can improve the quality of life for Team Scott members. "The Air Force is only as good as its Airmen. At Scott, we invest in you and your families. Your success, personally and professionally, will always be at the core of our mission success," she said. DRIVE INNOVATION AND EFFICIENCY "In a world that is blurred both by the speed of change and the reality of decreasing fiscal resources and high operations tempo, we must focus on what we do, how we do it, and what we can stop doing," Col. Lenderman said. "Solutions require that we collaborate across units, that we streamline processes, and that we embrace change. I know several organizations in our wing are already doing this. Some examples are use of computer aided technology at the dental clinic, improvement of techniques for injury recovery, employment of newly developed computer applications across the Mobility Air Forces and integration of systems and technology to ensure better readiness for our Airmen. We cannot achieve excellence if we do not innovate. It's imperative that we continue to find new solutions to the challenges that we face today and prepare for those that we will face tomorrow." MAINTAIN AND MODERNIZE INFRASTRUCTURE "Our installation is almost 100 years old. Many of our facilities are on the historic register. Our buildings are aging quickly and, with a few exceptions like the Visiting Quarters and the new DISA building, our resource reality dictates that we are not in a brick and mortar expansion phase at Scott," noted Col. Lenderman. She indicated that the wing is focused on efforts that sustain and improve current facilities such as the six-phased project to upgrade the HVAC and flooring for the Fitness Center and the multi-year AMC headquarters renovation project. She noted that this work requires a steady commitment of time and effort. She knows that Airmen will continue to focus on "the big rocks" to move these projects forward with consistency and clarity. STRENGTHEN MISSION AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Working collaboratively with both mission and community partners grows overall capacity. Through an Air Force Community Partnership Program, the base is developing more creative ways to leverage current capabilities and resources by finding shared value and benefit. Over the past year and half, the wing has been working with community leaders and five partnership opportunity categories have emerged: local community employment, storm water management, shared fitness instructors/programs, cyber community creation, and a multi-functional firing range. "Collaborating as value-added partners to grow local capacity creates a triple play situation: benefit for our wing, benefit for our mission partners and benefit for our local community. I know we can focus our efforts in these specific areas to ensure that we are the best partners possible," she said. The wing is also committed to maintaining robust, collaborative relationships with its Total Force partners in the 126th Air Refueling Wing and the 932d Airlift Wing. Additionally, the wing works closely with its mission partners to provide consistent quality customer service across the installation. According to Col. Lenderman, "We look for opportunities every day to deepen our partnerships and improve our support to our mission partners. We're committed to ensuring they have everything they need to accomplish their mission." HELP FROM ABOVE Col. Lenderman is honored to be working side-by-side with a world class team of Active Duty, Guard, Reserve, and Civilian Airmen all contributing to the wing's mission of enabling rapid global mobility. Col. Lenderman emphasized that as she and her leadership team pursue her vision and priorities, they will remain true to the 375th AMW motto to provide "Help From Above" and will lift up their work and each other in ways that enable our wing, and those whom we support, to successfully complete critical missions here at Scott AFB and around the globe.