Air Force activates 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson

  • Published
  • By John Schutte
  • Human Effectiveness Directorate
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio --  The Air Force Research Laboratory officially activated the 711th Human Performance Wing (HPW) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base today, creating the first human-centric warfare wing to consolidate research, consultation, and education under one roof.
 
The wing combines AFRL's Human Effectiveness Directorate (RH) with elements transitioning to Wright-Patterson AFB from the 311th Human Systems Wing (311 HSW) at Brooks City-Base, Texas--the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM), the Air Force Institute for Operational Health (AFIOH) and the 311th Performance Enhancement (PE) Directorate.
 
"We have a rare opportunity to consolidate, reorganize, and revitalize one of the finest labs in the world for human performance research and aerospace medicine," said Major Gen. Curtis M. Bedke, AFRL commander. "Working together, I know we will do just that." 

Thomas S. Wells, a member of the senior executive service, was named director of the new wing on February 29 and officially accepted command today during a traditional military flag exchange held at the Air Force Institute of Technology's Kenney Hall.
 
"Fortunately for us, we found the right guy to be the first wing director in Mr. Tom Wells," Gen. Bedke told a crowd of about 350, noting that "integrating science and technology with medically oriented functions seems like a daunting task, but I know that the men and women of AFRL are ready to handle any challenges we encounter." 

The Department of Defense 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) mandated that the 311th HSW functions from Brooks City-Base relocate to Wright-Patterson. Also under BRAC law, the RH Warfighter Readiness Research Division from Mesa, Arizona will join other RH divisions at Wright-Patterson by 2011. 

The HPW is an organizational structure related to BRAC but not required by law. In conjunction with the Navy Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory--which is relocating to WPAFB from Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.--and surrounding universities and medical institutions, the HPW will function as a joint DoD center of excellence for human performance, operating in a university model of education and training, research and development, and operational evaluation and consultation. 

Air Force Chief of Staff T. Michael Moseley had formally approved the plan on January 20, capping the preparation phase of a three-phase HPW implementation process.
AFRL officials held concurrent ceremonies today at Wright-Patterson and Mesa to commemorate the event. A separate ceremony is planned for March 28 at Brooks City-Base, Texas. Under the new structure, AFIOH at Brooks City-Base will deactivate and its functions be absorbed into USAFSAM, and the Performance Enhancement Directorate will be renamed Human Systems Integration. 

The 311th HSW will remain active at Brooks City-Base until the Air Force missions there have been relocated.
 
History buffs will note that the Air Force redesignated the inactive Harry G. Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (AAMRL) as the 711th HPW and activated it as one of ten entities now within AFRL. The new wing's emblem is the historic AAMRL patch with wording revised to reflect the merger of the RH science and technology mission with the aerospace medical and human systems integration missions. 

The 711 HPW could eventually bring an additional 500 military, 350 civilian, and a corresponding number of contractor jobs to Wright-Patterson and the Dayton, Ohio area. In addition, USAFSAM will cycle more than 5,000 aerospace medicine students to the Dayton region yearly.