By. Chris "UA" Lessard
As a three-time Airfield Operations Flight Commander (AOF/CC) from 2010-2019, I have learned numerous lessons about leadership, how organizations and bureaucracies operate, and how to run a complex weapons system. While in training, 13Ms focus a great deal on these topics at the surface level. One of the best lessons I have learned as an AOF is that my flight could not be as effective as we strove to be each day without exceptional relationships with certain agencies outside of the flight. For me, this boiled down to what I will call the “AOF Trinity” and includes: The Civil Engineering (CE) Operations Officer (CEO), Wing Flight Safety Officer (SEF), and the Operations Group Standardization and Evaluation (OGV). If an AOF can build solid relationships with these critical positions, they will allow their flight to be successful each day.
The officers that hold the positions in the “AOF Trinity” are essential since they enable an AOF mission each and every day. Additionally, these officers can be your best friend or worst enemy when you need them most. Think about it. If you do not have good a good relationship with the CEO, and your Airfield Manager is trying to get the Dirt Boyz or Airfield Lighting section to complete work orders, who do you go to to resolve the situation? You could just complain to your OSS/CC that CE is not doing their job, but what does that say about you and your flight’s ability to work with the agencies you depend on to make the airfield weapons system effective? An example from my time as an AOF/CC will be presented later in this post. Likewise, if your air traffic controllers have an issue with an aircraft operation in your terminal airspace, a quick solution can be to engage either the OGV or SEF. Maybe there is a reason or need for the aircraft’s operation. The OGV or SEF offices can either help explain or clear up any misunderstanding regarding aircraft operations.
This leads to the next reason why you should have good relationships with these key offices. The ability to preemptively recognize and solve issues before they might arise. Having built great relationships with these offices allowed my flight to become involved with operational/exercise planning or brief at the Wing Quarterly Flight Safety Brief that is required for all aircrew in a given wing. Furthermore, OGV is typically in charge of the Supervisor of Flying (SOF) program, if an airframe requires it. Many times, the SOF-ATC dynamic can be challenging for new AOF/CCs. This is especially the case when the AOF/CC and OGV relationship is either non-existent or in need of repair.
I have failed in some cases to build the relationship required with these offices, and it caused all of our organizations not to be mission effective. Once, the AOF’s relationship was so bad with the CEO that both the Operations Group and Mission Support Group Commander’s called an emergency meeting between the two squadrons to resolve the situation. The relationship failed because both the AOF/CC, me, and the CEO could not come to a common understanding. This was a failure of my leadership as the AOF/CC. I failed to ensure the best working environment for my flight to be effective in their mission. I failed because I did not understand why CE could not have the airfield as their top priority. One solution would have been to sit down with the CEO, see what were their given priorities, and figure out how the airfield priorities could be incorporated.
As the AOF/CC, it is your duty and responsibility to give your people the best environment to operate effectively and most efficiently as possible. If the flight is continuously in conflict with another organization, you are not setting the environment for success. The culture you build with the other organizations that your flight relies on to complete its mission will be reflected in its effectiveness. The trinity I mentioned here is based on my experience in Air Combat Command (ACC), Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), and four deployments to the Central Command (CENTCOM) Area of Responsibility (AOR). Which agencies or organizations you build your relationships may differ based on the different Major Commands (MAJCOMs) or geographic location. By providing you with my thoughts and experience, I hope you consider the relationships you build with outside organizations will affect your flight. After all, besides taking care of your people, this is one of the most significant effects an AOF/CC can have on an Airfield Operations Flight.
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