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Class teaches Sabers smart operations

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Daryl Knee
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  Sixteen Sabers graduated from the first Spangdahlem-hosted Greenbelt class here Aug. 4.

The class is the first level of training in the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century program, a Defense Department approach that integrates proven money-saving industry methods into the Air Force.

"We're building a sustainable program to make this base better than what it currently is, and even the Air Force as a whole," said Lt. Col. John Liller, Spangdahlem AFSO21 director. "The training should not stop at the end of this class. [Students] will take the information back to the units to instill positive change from the ground up."

The Spangdahlem AFSO21 office had, until recently, partnered with other bases' to teach the Greenbelt class. Now, with the addition of new staff members, the capability exists for the office to train base members independently.

During the class, instructors taught methods to identify waste, develop tools to improve existing programs and implement lasting changes.

Waste is not always easy to identify, said Tech. Sgt. Justin Valiente, 52nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and class student. According to the training he received, waste is anything not directly contributing to mission accomplishment.

"Think of [the fast-food industry,]" he continued. "They keep frozen meats and food products in storage. It doesn't seem like waste, because they are going to use it soon, but it's still not being used at this exact moment toward accomplishing the mission."

He linked this mindset to military units who stockpile large quantities of equipment or inventory items. While the surpluses will be used eventually, the Airmen could have spent the money to timely purchase needed supplies for their day-to-day job.

Promptly identifying and improving similar issues does not necessarily save the DoD money, he said, but it reallocates that money to areas where it can be used more efficiently.

As the Air Force begins to improve already-lean programs and processes, every Airman should do their part to streamline work processes, said Master Sgt. Kevin Lockridge, 52nd Mission Support Group AFSO 21 representative and course instructor.

"By breeding success at the unit level, AFSO21 comes alive," he said. "It becomes who we are, not a process we do. The new Airmen are the lifeblood of our change."

The green-belt title is a classification based on the Japanese belt system, and it indicates students' progress. The black belt is the next, and final, level of understanding denoting the ability to deal with complex issues. For more information, call the Spangdahlem AFSO21 office at DSN452-6499.