SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Innovation is an important factor for military bases, driving process improvement, increasing efficiency, and helping the U.S. military remain competitive with its adversaries.
Innovation would not be possible without the hard work of individuals like U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Christopher Patten, 52nd Maintenance Group development and instruction NCO in-charge and problem identification training instructor.
Since 2016, Patten has taught 307 of the 438 individuals at Spangdahlem Air Base who have received PIT, said MSgt. Kevin Cumbie, 52nd Fighter Wing innovation and transformation office superintendent.
Patten originally decided to be a PIT instructor because he recognized it was an opportunity to make a difference.
“The whole continuous process improvement sparked my interest and I really wanted to make a difference as far as what is going on,” Patten said. “It is not the old way, it is a culture shift in what we are doing, what the Air Force is doing, empowering young minds, empowering young Airmen to make change.”
Patten has been able to cause change here, change that will have a lasting impact long after he leaves next month.
Due to Patten’s effort the 52nd FW has not finished outside the top three in Innovation Madness and a high percentage of the base population has been trained in CPI methodologies, Cumbie said. This has a big impact on the wing as people on base now understand what problem identification is, what process improvement is, how to capture the issue, and to let their supervisor know there is a problem and pursue efforts to resolve it.
Patten effects this change by empowering others to become facilitators of process improvement.
“I can tell you that whenever MSgt. Patten teaches he takes those individuals and gives them a brand-new vision about how things can be run in the Air Force, not how they are currently run,” Cumbie said. “As he will tell you, the lightbulb just comes on and he can see a student gets the idea or a methodology in order to go back to their work center and identify things and try to make them better. With his influence on this training, he spawns people who are ready to move onto greenbelt training, to become an actual facilitator of process improvement. We only have 11 on this base and right now because of him we have a waiting list that we cannot currently satisfy.”
Patten believes that instruction in PIT would be beneficial for everyone and suggests we pursue a goal of instructing everyone in PIT.
“It would be helpful for every Airman on base to have PIT. This training allows you to look at problems in a different light,” Patten said. “Rather than have the old military way of shut up and color or how it has always been, we are now able to empower people to bring data driven decisions to their commanders. If we show them how to collect data, how to draft a problem statement, how to identify the performance gap, what is wrong with a process, we can then bring that to leadership and from there make decisions that are going to effectively change processes, work and even home environments.”
November 20, 2018, was Patten’s last PIT class before he undergoes a permanent change of station to Shaw Air Force base in Sumter, South Carolina. Patten is enthusiastic to bring the same passion for process improvement to Shaw.
I want to bring what we have at Spangdahlem to Shaw, this is something that not only can continue to benefit the base and USAFE, but also bases in the major commands throughout the Air Force, Patten said. I definitely want to bring PIT and CPI to Shaw, regardless of whatever position they put me in there.
“While MSgt Patten’s departure could be counted a loss, I know he’ll be a great asset for the 20th FW,” said Col. Jason Bailey, 52nd FW commander. “With the culture of innovation he’s helped create here, I am sure there are more like him who are ready to step in.”
As for the future of PIT at Spangdahlem, it will soon be going mobile to the geographically separated units.
“We are going off base now and that is at the request of these GSUs that are hearing about it now for the first time,” said Cumbie.