Letter to Airmen pushes persistence in resource management

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  After 15 years of continuous engagement, the Air Force is evolving through persistent situation awareness, the secretary of the Air Force stated in a Letter to Airmen released today.

“Our Air Force finds itself in an operating environment that requires us to examine all mission areas, from platforms to personnel, for stresses, inefficiencies and strains that we must identify and correct,” Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne wrote.

In the letter, the secretary states that Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley laid out a clear set of priorities. These are: winning the global war on terrorism, recapitalizing the Air Force and providing Airmen the skills and training they need.

“We are attacking this from two directions; first, by expanding the use of Lean concepts,” the letter states. Lean concepts are tools businesses use to decrease waste, improve quality and maximize effectiveness within their organization.

Secretary Wynne wrote the application of such concepts within the service would balance “the productivity of our people and the increased capability of our systems … against the inherent cost.”

The second course of attack will be to provide tools to commanders and supervisors to monitor and control resources across the Air Force.

“We must analyze all of our operations to look for opportunities to eliminate waste in terms of time and materials, while increasing productivity and continuing to challenge ourselves,” the secretary wrote.

Though change is never easy, Secretary Wynne vowed to remain committed to the total force. On behalf of all senior leaders, he praised the work Airmen are doing around the globe.

“We are reminded daily of your commitment to our first priority -– winning the war,” the secretary wrote.