Understanding 3 points of perspective helps support AF mission

  • Published
  • By David A. Perkins
  • 88 Civil Engineer Group director
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio. --  Throughout my 28-year career, I have seen many changes and served in a variety of roles at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. During the past 5½ years, I have served as the director of what began as the 88th Air Base Wing Civil Engineer Directorate and recently became the 88 Civil Engineering Group.

As a group civilian leader, I'm charged with ensuring my organization provides the best possible support to this installation. My recent experiences as the acting vice director for the 88th Air Base Wing leads me to share my thoughts on how we can all benefit from gaining greater perspective.

We should all be aware of three points of perspective to ensure we are supporting the Air Force mission to the best of our ability.

The first perspective is often the easiest for us to accomplish. ›at is the internal look into our own organization. Regardless of where you work, it is important that you understand your own roles and responsibilities. ›e second and third perspectives, looking horizontally and vertically, tend to be more challenging and require some effort to achieve.

Each of us serves as a cog in a large and complex organization and only by recognizing how we fit with our counterparts can we keep the machine running effectively. It is incumbent upon us to look horizontally and endeavor to understand the requirements of our colleagues. Only by recognizing the capabilities and contributions of our mission partners can we ensure we are working together effectively   and not inadvertently hindering each other. It goes back to the adage of walking a mile in another person's shoes.

The three months I spent as the top civilian in the wing emphasized to me the importance of seeing how each of us serves a critical role in supporting the Air Force mission. The breadth of the 88 ABW mission includes a wide variety of groups, squadrons, directorates, divisions and wing staff agencies, and each of these entities has a significant impact on the base. I gained a new appreciation for the vital services provided by my counterparts within the wing. We should all strive to better understand the perspectives and goals of our colleagues and counterparts, so that we can work more effectively together.

The third perspective is to see the larger mission and understand the needs   of our mission partners at Wright-Patterson AFB. We at the wing support a range of critical customers, including Air Force Materiel Command, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Institute of Technology and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force to name a few.

As an example, AFLCMC is the acquisition center for the Air Force, responsible for the research, development, testing, and evaluation of weapons systems for the Air Force. While my team may not be working directly on those systems, we should recognize that we provide the infrastructure to enable that work to be done.

Similarly, our wing partners contribute by providing a safe work environment, communications systems, training and support functions like personnel, finance, transportation, etc. Though the work we do may not always be glamorous, it is pivotal to the success of that larger mission. We must always remember that our customers' missions are our missions.

The key point is for all senior leaders to understand and inform their workforce of the significance of how each individual's duties truly contribute to the Air Force mission to fly, fight and win... in air, space and cyberspace.

Once personnel see what their efforts mean to the big picture, it becomes easier for them to excel.

For example, if the task of the day for an individual is correcting a malfunctioning heating system in the middle of a cold snap, he or she may approach this from the perspective that the people may be cold and inconvenienced but it's no big deal. But what he or she would fail to realize is the customers affected may not be able to perform their mission in the real-time support of our warfighters in harm's way or that it could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost productivity if the occupants are granted administrative leave because the workspace is too cold.

At the end of the day, each of us is one among 27,000-plus individuals on a complex Air Force installation the size of a medium city. What each of us does, or doesn't do, impacts someone else.

So take the time to understand not only how your mission impacts the installation and the Air Force as a whole but how those that support you are impacted by your needs and requirements. We are all in this together.