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Building a winning ORI team

  • Published
  • By Col. Gary Goldstone
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  During the past 10 weeks, we've been discussing specific areas where we need to focus our efforts to ensure we can execute a swift and precise deployment of our forces followed by successful operations in a wartime environment.

While we've been practicing for the upcoming Operational Readiness Inspection, we've also honed these skills as part of our daily operations. Together we've met challenges, improved processes, reviewed our checklists and worked hard to balance the mission taskings for both exercise and real-world requirements.

To create a winning team, not just for the ORI but for daily operations, we must start with having the right attitude and the right mindset for what we are attempting to accomplish. As I've spent the past several months with you working through deployment exercises, I've seen your positive, can-do attitudes and it is contagious! As a commander, I appreciate your hard work in meeting tasks, as well as your demonstrations of flexibility and patience as we've worked through tough challenges. I encourage you to continue to showcase that great positive energy and bring it on as we go over our final preparations for the ORI.

Most winning teams have a secret to their success. It's that special factor that turns a group of strangers into a team who's interdependent and able to achieve great things. Our special factor includes our positive attitude and our sense of urgency. Our attitudes will show we are taking training opportunities seriously and able to overcome any obstacle to ensure mission success. Our sense of URGENCY shows we are proactive in our communications and problem solving. This sense of URGENCY will save lives in the battles we fight, as well as help us gain the maximum possible from our training scenarios.

These first areas--attitude and urgency--are the foundations for building a winning ORI team. There are several other elements required to galvanize our readiness posture and contribute to the mobility machine. It includes communication, professionalism, expertise, leadership and checklist discipline.

It's communications flow that keeps us on target while under "attack" and it's professionalism that we display in our respective career fields that will allow us to Enable Combat Power! Each person's expertise is required as we implement and follow our checklists, and that will ensure we can put the "O" in the "Ability to Survive and Operate."

We've spent the past year forming our teams within our wing as well as with our ORI partners--the 133rd Airlift Wing, based out of Minneapolis-St. Paul, and the 94th Aerial Port Squadron, from Robins Air Force Base, Ga., and the 156th Airlift Wing from the Puerto Rico National Guard.

We're fortunate to be paired up with these units for several reasons. They have a robust team of people who are able to provide continuity of operations, and they have a lot of great procedures already in place that will help with our efforts. The Guard brings with them a C-130 mission capability that we will be relying on to assist with deployment of forces and equipment, and the Reserves are primarily supplying their aerial port operational functions.
Through our repeated refinement of all readiness and deployments aspects, and from the multiple practice runs we've had together, I am confident that we have prepared appropriately, that we will perform in an OUTSTANDING manner, and that our final grade will reflect that!

However, these next few days are still critical in the process. We must not let up on our final preparations or get complacent. Our professionalism and preparation will help us carry the day. I'm proud of you and ask that we all take one more look at our areas, review our checklists, and rally for when our nation calls! ORI prep may not be the only requirement on our plates these days, but being able to get our combat-ready Airmen to the fight--and then be able to accomplish the mission safely--is the most important mission we do. Air Power!