Malmstrom officials host inaugural ICBM Sustainment General Officer Steering Group

  • Published
  • By Valerie Mullett
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. (AFNS) --  Air Force leaders with a stake in nuclear sustainment issues met here April 8.

Ann Mitchell, the director of logistics, installations and mission support for Air Force Global Strike Command, chaired the first-ever ICBM Sustainment General Officer Steering Group, to determine a strategic approach to common issues facing the Air Force nuclear enterprise.

"Never have the wing commanders been given the opportunity to share their concerns with general officer-level representatives from the key stakeholders in our community," said Col. Michael Fortney, the 341st Missile Wing commander. "This was an opportunity for us to voice our biggest challenges to people who can make decisions. This is a new way of doing business."

"The core issue is that the weapons platforms for which AFGSC is responsible have, over time, been struggling to get appropriate visibility and priority," Ms. Mitchell said.

"The intent of the (meeting) was to get all the players that are involved with sustainment, modernization, program management, providers, contractors, supply chain and the acquisition lifecycle together," she said. "If we come together as an enterprise, we can make more informed decisions about where to spend that next dollar if we were to get it."

In her opening remarks to the group, she explained that this would be an evolutionary process, one that is strategically-focused and in the end, would allow everyone attending to share priorities and goals.

This, she said, will allow deliberate decisions to be made by people who are working at the strategic level and have a vision of the long view.

"I first wanted to lay the ground work by starting with the issues from all the wing commanders," she said. "By hearing from them - the warfighters - what their specific concerns were," she explained. "Another goal of the meeting was to familiarize everyone with each other and highlight the roles each of them play.
 
Finally, "the follow-on actions from the meeting will frame the issues that require research or further information for decisions," she said.

"Getting some players who haven't been as heavily involved together with the wing commanders and who may not even know who they are, and having them look in their eyes as the ones who have to execute without parts or with deficits in systems that we field - this creates a network where we have more accountability," she said. "That way we can look at them and say, 'I'll get back to you on that,' and that means a lot to anyone."

The first meeting appeared to have accomplished all goals.

"It was a foundation-setter for meetings that will follow," Colonel Fortney said.

Ms. Mitchell agreed.

"It was a success. Now the work begins to follow through," she said.

"We walked away with a list of things that need more work, but also with a list of actions that can be taken in the next months to be able to say 'OK, there's a lot more to do than we have people to do it. But here are the things we want priority action on now so that we can make a difference for our customer.'"