Air Force logistics moves into new century with ‘eLog21’ Published Dec. 4, 2003 By Staff Sgt. Melanie Streeter Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- With the creation of the Air Force Installations and Logistics Directorate of Innovation and Transformation, the Air Force is updating the way logistics processes work.“There are some things we are still doing that fit a Cold War scenario,” said Lt. Gen. Michael Zettler, Air Force deputy chief of staff for Installations and Logistics. “In today’s modern, expeditionary Air Force, we need to improve our logistics operations processes.”There are a number of areas the logistics world needs to work on to keep up with the changing face of today’s Air Force, Zettler said.“From the Air Force senior logistician’s point of view, we’re not flexible enough,” Zettler said. “We cost too much, and sometimes we don’t deliver what we say we’re going to deliver when we say we’re going to get it there.”At the same time, things are working, thanks to the people in the field, he said.“This is a great, great Air Force logistics operation, and there are a hundred thousand heroes out there who make it work,” Zettler said. “I just want to make that job easier.”This overall campaign for change is called Expeditionary Logistics for the 21st Century.“(This) is the Air Force’s approach to improving our overall logistics operations,” Zettler said. “What we want to do with eLog21 is have a structure that identifies where our weaknesses are and improves them.“The overall goal here is to transform some of our cumbersome processes so the airmen who are walking our flightlines and supply warehouses, moving goods as transporters and doing the planning, are working with the assurance that they will have what they need, when they need it,” he said.To spread the word, Zettler and other members of the directorate attended the most recent Logistics Officer Association conference.“Taking it to the LOA meeting was a stroke of genius, in that it was a great opportunity to reach thousands of logistics officers who needed to be informed on where we’re going,” Zettler said.It also gave leaders a chance to reassure the people in the field who are affected by changes.“Many people, when you tell them ‘Here’s my program, eLog21; it’s designed to make it work better,’ get fearful,” Zettler said. “They have a natural reaction to change. ‘They’re going to do something to break my world.’ It was an opportunity to be out there, talk to them and say, ‘We’re not going to break your world, we’re trying to improve it.’”When people know what is changing, why it is changing and what the timeline is, they are more likely to accept it and help it along, Zettler said.“You want them to know about it so you can work as a team,” he said.Teamwork will be important in the months and years ahead, Zettler said.“This is a marathon; this is not a sprint,” he said. “We are not going to fix everything and have it all done in 2006 and say it’s over. It’s going to go on. It has to go on.”Zettler said he looks forward to the changing face of logistics.“I’m really excited about this,” he said. “I think we’ve got the right people in position who are really going to lead us to do this. They are extraordinarily competent, and we’ve got good support from the major commands.”Leadership alone cannot make the transformation work, Zettler said.“The world of Air Force logistics should embrace this with enthusiasm, but (with) respectful caution,” he said. “The people in the field need to keep us moving forward, not let us make mistakes and do something that’s not wise, but will work. They have to jump on and help carry this bandwagon.”