AFSO21- Setting the story straight Published Aug. 18, 2008 By Maj. Nathan Hansen 52nd Fighter Wing Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century Program Director SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- It has been about 18 months since Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century arrived at Spangdahlem Air Base and despite the many positive changes it has made in the 52nd Fighter Wing, the mere mention of AFSO21 can cause bouts of nausea and/or send people running for the nearest exit. As AFSO21 Program Director I have seen all the reactions and heard the ridicule and I can understand why. Our Air Force culture tends to discredit these all-encompassing solutions that come down from headquarters wrapped in a nifty acronym and promising to fix everything. Our response is, "Nothing's broke that I can't fix, so why don't you quit bugging me with all this process mumbo-jumbo and let me do my job." Maj. Gen. Marc Rogers, United States Air Forces in Europe vice commander, made it clear during his visit in August that AFSO21 is not going away, so though you may not like the packaging, it is time to get real about taking a look inside the AFSO21 toolbox and see if there is anything you can use in there. AFSO21 is the Air Force name for the Department of Defense-wide effort to institutionalize Lean, Six Sigma, and other Continuous Process Improvement tools in our military culture and the way we accomplish the mission. By focusing on reducing waste and using smarter processes to get the job done we will be able to continue to deliver combat power in a world of increasingly limited resources. While this description rarely tells the whole story, let me tell you what AFSO21 is not. - AFSO21 is not the cause of manpower and budget cuts. Program Budget Directive 720 cuts and the Commander's Support Staff consolidation are not the results of AFSO21 initiatives; on the contrary, AFSO21 tools have been used to help us figure out how to continue to accomplish the mission and mitigate the impact of these cuts. - AFSO21 is not the reincarnation of Total Quality Management or Quality Air Force. While some of the tools utilized by AFSO21 resemble management techniques seen in the TQM and QAF days, the fundamental principles are completely different. - AFSO21 is not about metrics for the sake of metrics. It is about the right metric that tells you how well you are accomplishing the mission. The less metrics there are, and the simpler they are, the better; metrics must be useful or they do not contribute to mission accomplishment. - AFSO21 is not about bringing in experts to run the program. Air Force leaders run this program, from the chief of staff to the non-commissioned officer in charge at the shop level. USAFE has hired civilian consultants to teach us how to apply AFSO21 tools in a military environment. We must then apply the tools to improve the way we get the job done. As soon as we develop enough internal expertise we will no longer need their assistance. - AFSO21 does not exist to perpetuate its own existence, "quality for quality's sake." It is completely focused on improving the way we accomplish the mission. If AFSO21 does not improve the way you accomplish the mission or the way you lead your organization, then it should go away. That is an underlying principle of AFSO21, but you don't get to make that call until you fully understand all the principles, so you have to get your hands dirty and learn this stuff. - AFSO21 is not a silver bullet one-week event that solves all your problems. It is Continuous Process Improvement and an AFSO21 event is simply the first step in getting the improvement started. Once learned, these tools must be continually applied autonomously within the unit to derive further benefits and make further improvements on the original solution. Not all AFSO21 events come up with the correct solution on the first try and all attempts do not all deliver immediate results. Sometimes there are problems and obstacles to overcome and sometimes things get worse before they get better, but that does not mean that the week you dedicated to addressing the problem was a waste nor does it mean the event was a failure. Effective leaders solve problems and they don't give up when they meet adversity. If the solution is not delivering the desired result, you may have to go back to the drawing board because you probably did not correctly identify the root cause of your problem. These setbacks are not failures, they are learning opportunities. We have had plenty of learning opportunities using AFSO21 at Spangdahlem over the last 18 months and we are starting to get better at how we apply these tools. - AFSO21 is not incompatible with our military culture and core values. The underlying principles guiding AFSO21 are universal. As General Rogers stated in his brief to wing leadership, AFSO21 principles are fundamental to military leadership. Most of us already think this way to one degree or another. AFSO21 is merely trying to spread the standard of excellence to all Airmen and provide them the same tools some of our most effective leaders already use. AFSO21 is about results, accomplishing the mission, and how we deliver combat power. So when AFSO21 comes knocking on your door, it doesn't mean that you are not getting the job done. In February of this year we spent a week identifying the crucial processes that allow Sabers to deliver combat power. Over the next two years nearly every process that impacts our mission will be looked at using AFSO21 tools. Don't feel like you're being singled out. Relish the opportunity to have an impact on the wing mission and learn the tools that will help you go out and improve the Air Force throughout your career. This is one of our core values. In that sense, continuous process improvement is already a part of our culture, the AFSO21 office just wants to help provide additional tools to help you on your quest and turn these principles into common practice. Over the coming months, the AFSO21 office will share more information about the AFSO21 program and wing initiatives through this forum. Don't know who your AFSO21 representatives are? Come by Bldg. 79 or call 452-6410/6499 and learn a little more about what AFSO21 is all about.