Airmen 'INVEST' in efficiencies

  • Published
  • By Capt. Chris Sukach
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Carrol H. "Howie" Chandler spoke about Air Force efficiency initiatives Oct. 28 as part of the Military Strategy Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies here.

"I don't think anybody in the Air Force will argue that we can't be more efficient at what we do," said General Chandler, pointing out that a focus on efficiencies is not new to the service.

Air Force Smart Operations, known as AFSO21, is a continuous improvement process Air Force leaders implemented several years ago that incorporates portions of the Lean and Six Sigma process improvement tools into an eight-step problem-solving model.

"Because of some of the logic we instill with AFSO21, we accounted for about 55 percent of the Defense Department ideas in what they call the Innovation for New Value, Efficiency, and Savings Tomorrow, or INVEST," General Chandler said.

The INVEST Awards is a DOD contest that awards cash prizes to those who submit the best ideas for improving efficiency. INVEST suggestions from Airmen included a move away from the traditional end-of-fiscal-year spending drill often seen in DOD.

"The whole idea that you have to spend all of your budget at the end of the year or you're not going to get the same amount the next year is one we need to work our way away from," General Chandler said.

He also said the INVEST suggestions by Airmen showed a desire to eliminate inefficiencies, such as un-needed headquarters organizations and redundant inspections, and to focus more on environmental awareness, with an emphasis on renewable energy.

"One of the most novel things suggested, that I think is indicative of the generation of young folks we have today, is a DOD 'Craigslist,'" General Chandler said.

Rather than take unneeded office items to a Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office for disposal, DOD members could instead offer them to other agencies for re-use on a Craigslist-like website, the general said.

General Chandler's appearance at CSIS was part of series geared toward understanding the military services' approaches to DOD's efficiencies initiative. Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli kicked off the discussions at CSIS July 15, and Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert will participate in his own forum Nov. 1.