AFSO21 senior leader course aims to improve

  • Published
  • By Josh Aycock
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  An Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century senior leader course took place here Aug. 3-4 to help leaders from across the base continue improving AF processes in the future. 

The two-day course aimed at Colonels, GS-15s and Chief Master Sergeants was kicked off by the Director of Logistics and Sustainment at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command Maj. Gen. Thomas Owen who provided the participants with personal experiences on improving AF processes throughout his 30-year career. 

"We have always been about process improvement and innovation," Gen. Owen told the base leaders. "AFSO21 is taking the best of all the different tools and theories and applying those to help us." 

General Owen is slated to get his third star and reassignment as Commander of Aeronautical Systems Center on Aug. 14 during a ceremony at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. 

The interactive course utilized the participant's wide range of knowledge and skill sets by not only providing the principals of AFSO21 but challenges and exercises to put those principals to work. 

"Part of the need is to believe, thus the sharing of experiences among the participants demonstrates that the concepts are already being implemented and can and do work," said Allen Pannell, the course leader from the University of Tennessee's Center for Executive Education. 

Throughout the course the leaders learned new ways of improving AF processes utilizing a number of sources such as: LEAN, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, Root Cause Analysis and Business process reengineering all aimed at reaching the AFSO21 five desired effects. 

The class is one of approximately 50 held yearly throughout the AF to reach AFSO21's goal of making every Airmen aware of how to improve mission performance.