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Publisher Michael M. Dunn

More on AFSO 21 needs to be studied on a case-by-case Editor in Chief I enjoyed Adam Hebert’s “Issue Brief” basis. They may be very effective in cer- Robert S. Dudney on AFSO 21 in the January 2008 edition tain organizations and environments, but of Air Force Magazine [p. 20]. When ad- they may cause problems and rejection Editorial [email protected] dressing the difficulty in clearly explain- in others where they may be interpreted ing AFSO 21, his following comment as “Blah, blah, blah.” Editor particularly caught my attention: “Part Finally, I’m surprised to see how Suzann Chapman of the problem is that AFSO 21 and its prevalent the Japanese influence still Executive Editors descriptions are laden with jargon and is. I thought that by now we would have Adam J. Hebert, John A. Tirpak buzzwords. Lean. Six Sigma. Theory of changed that. I saw a statement that Senior Editor constraints. Business process re-engi- described a MAJCOM commander as Michael C. Sirak neering. Just-in-time inventory. Blah, “our sensei.” I bet that the vast majority blah, blah.” of the workforce will more easily identify Associate Editors The tools mentioned above precede the individual as their commander than as Tamar A. Mehuron AFSO 21. They were important elements their sensei. “Muda” is “waste.” I bet most Marc V. Schanz of the Total Quality Management (TQM) employees would rather deal with “waste” movement that was popular back in the than with “muda.” They understand the 1980s and 1990s. We had great senior concrete goals of AFSO 21 such as Contributors leader support in the early stages of “Deep-six stupid, unnecessary tasks” Walter J. Boyne, Bruce D. Callander, TQM, but much of the support waned rather than trying to employ “kaisen” to John T. Correll, Rebecca Grant, as time passed. A lot of what was going bring about continuous improvements. Peter Grier, Tom Philpott on then is what I think I see going on I am a sincere advocate of AFSO now in the Air Force. The real challenge 21’s goal of greater efficiency. I wish Production [email protected] is yet to be faced: What are AFSO 21 the Air Force all the best in its efforts Managing Editor and the Air Force going to look like in to sustain the momentum and bring Juliette Kelsey Chagnon years to come? further gains. As Mr. Hebert requested, AFSO 21 requires “a passion for I’ll stay tuned. continuous improvement—a spirit and Col. Bill Friel, Assistant Managing Editor mind-set that we can always get better.” USAF (Ret.) Frances McKenney TQM had an identical requirement, but Dayton, Ohio Editorial Associate we made it too hard for our workforce June Lee to sustain that passion. I hope we’re not Why Not Two Tankers? doing the same with AFSO 21. All the [In reference to “Editorial: Cata- Senior Designer policies, procedures, objectives, tools, strophic Failure,” January, p. 2]: The Heather Lewis and guiding principles won’t amount to underfunding of replacement aircraft Designer much if we have managers and leaders to the tune of $20 billion per year Darcy N. Harris who get in the way of good ideas. Getting threatens the ability of our Air Force Photo Editor out of the way is often hard to do, es- to be effective for more than a short Zaur Eylanbekov pecially in defense organizations where conflict. I see the estimate of need at formal chains of command are required $20 billion a year for six years, I see Production Manager to maintain discipline and good order, the request from Senators to continue Butch Ramsey but it can be done. If we can convince C-17 production and F-22 production, managers and leaders at all levels to I see an underused and languishing Media Research Editor find ways to make it easier for Air Force C-5 fleet hoping for modification, but Chequita Wood employees to surface their good ideas, I am not sure I see an actual effort to we will see greater efficiency. infuse $20 billion into USAF for needed Advertising [email protected] Speaking of making things easier, it combat capability. seems to me that we are assuming that Director of Advertising the tools we are using or are planning to William B. Turner use with AFSO 21 are easy to understand Do you have a comment about a cur- 1501 Lee Highway and apply. The tools are valuable, but we rent article in the magazine? Write Arlington, Va. 22209-1198 should not assume that it will be easy to “Letters,” Air Force Magazine, Tel: 703/247-5820 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA Telefax: 703/247-5855 to, “through the application of process 22209-1198. (E-mail: letters@afa. improvement tools and philosophies org.) Letters should be concise and such as Lean, Theory of Constraints, timely. We cannot acknowledge re- Six Sigma, and Enterprise Value Stream ceipt of letters. We reserve the right Mapping ... improve how we accomplish to condense letters. Letters without Circulation audited by our daily tasks with the goal of making our name and city/base and state are not Business Publication Audit processes more standardized, effective, acceptable. Photographs cannot be and efficient,” as I’ve seen in AFSO 21 used or returned.—THE EDITORS purpose statements. The use of the tools

4 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2008 USAF should not choose between involvement in Vietnam in the context extended. But [Libyan leader Muammar] the two tanker candidates, but let two of the . Unfortunately, we did Qaddafi saw to it that was not going to contracts and fund both at the same not empathize enough with the North happen. level—the replacement rate if one con- Vietnamese perspective as a war of MSgt. Philip L. Harrison, tractor is chosen is a joke. Why make the independence from colonial powers, USAF (Ret.) tanker replacement a big development- including the United States. In hindsight, Fayetteville, N.C. dollar sink? Both vendors say that they from the earliest involvement of the have product being delivered. Get them US, North Vietnam leaders would have I would just like to correct the spelling to perform. Put [the tankers] on the ramp likely viewed a long-term independent of the original Arabic/Libyan name of meeting this spec, or no money. USAF relationship with the US more favorably Wheelus Air Base. must fund whatever quantity of F-22s is than one with the or China. It is Millaha, rather than Mehalla, required for NORAD/US Northern Com- US policy-makers were clouded in their which comes from the Arabic word Mil- mand/ANG, period. Lockheed must be strategy by the Cold War. lah meaning salt. The base is built on brought to the big table and required to Regardless, a weak President as Com- an old seawater salt marsh where salt perform on the C-5 modernization/re- mander in Chief who did not effectively used to be [extracted] and exported. Salt engining. C-17 Total Force numbers need articulate the political and military goals used to be a big export earner for Libya to be increased by about 100 aircraft. And to the American people, and military in the Ottoman Turkish period and up to don’t forget, the F-16 replacement bow leadership that failed to effectively articu- the Italian period. wave is upon us, so Lockheed needs to late victory on the battlefield, resulted in Sami Zaptia get its act together for the F-35. political and public surrender. This must , Libya This doesn’t even talk to AWACS never happen again. updates/replacement or ISR! We must forever extol US military Walter Boyne’s succinct article on I am not in favor of “throwing” money, battlefield accomplishments during our Wheelus AB, Libya, certainly summed but we can’t just keep shoveling opera- military involvement in Vietnam. It is tragic up the importance of the base and its tions and maintenance money into old that we allowed so many with unsourced controversial history in a fine manner. equipment and thinking we are going or biased views to shape much of the However, I wish to point out a minor dis- to be OK. public’s battlefield memory—at least to crepancy. Where he mentions SAC’s use Maj. Gregory W. Gerdes, this point. I believe time will show how of the base, he states that SAC deployed USAF (Ret.) Vietnam was another line in the sand tankers there, including KB-50s. SAC Dallas for democracy—one with a grotesque never had the KB-50 in its inventory—it price in American lives. was used only by Tactical Air Command Guam Encore Today, the Vietnamese people wel- (TAC), US Air Forces Europe (USAFE), Your article in the January 2008 come our relationship independent of and Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). I checked issue, “Guam, All Over Again” [p. 28], other nations—and the Cold War is through my complete set of unit histories brought back memories. In 1972, I was over. for the 420th Air Refueling Squadron an electronics warfare officer (EWO) Bill Lawson (the only KB-50 outfit in USAFE), and stationed with the 416th Bomb Wing Livonia, Mich. found little mention of Wheelus. The (H) at Griffiss Air Force Base, Rome, 420th did refuel fighter units en route to N.Y. We were a SAC B-52G wing. In Wheelus Recalled and from Wheelus for their training on May of that year, we were one of the As one who pulled a great three-year the extensive ranges there, but seldom first G wings taking B-52Gs to Guam tour there, I can attest to how wonder- operated from the base. to take part in the B-52 Arc Light mis- ful an assignment that was [“The Years One interesting exception, however, sion. Up till then, all the B-52s flying Arc of Wheelus,” January, p. 62]. That is, involved the hunt in 1960 for the aircrew Light missions from Guam and Thailand until —the day the Six Day remains from the B-24D were B-52Ds. My crew began flying Arc War broke out. As good as the article which had crashed in the southeastern Light missions out of Guam in May of was, it didn’t mention the outstanding Libyan desert on April 5, 1943. The 1972 and was there to fly Linebacker II job done by the dependents who were aircraft crash site had been found only missions into Route Pack VI, the Hanoi there awaiting evacuation. Because we in 1958, with no evidence of the crew and Haiphong [North Vietnam] area, in didn’t know what the Libyans were going nearby. Sporadic efforts to find crew December of that year. to do in retaliation, the commander put remains ensued over the next several As I read the article on Guam, I saw an F-100 up at the front gate headed years, and eventually all were found and the photo, on p. 30, of two B-52s, one down the highway. identified. The KB-50’s contribution to this taking off and one holding. I noticed That was deterrent enough. Mean- effort came in April 1960. USAFE directed the error in the caption of that photo while, all the Libyans who worked on that its 66th Tactical Reconnaissance identifying the two aircraft as B-52Ds. the base left, in the hope that we could Wing send four RF-101s to Wheelus, They are not B-52Ds, they are B-52Gs. not exist without their help. How big a from where they would map the “Sand The D has a black underside and tall mistake that was. The dependents on Sea” area around the crash site to aid black vertical tail. The G has a white base handled all the chores in the dining in the search. Two 420th KB-50s air- underside (noticeable in the photo) and hall. The children washed and mopped refueled the six RF-101 recon missions a camouflage, shorter vertical tail. I have floors, hauled out trash, and were re- flown that month, enabling them to over 4,000 flying hours in the B-52G and ally magnificent in all they did without provide photography to the ground got pretty attached to it. complaining—proving once again that search parties. Mission accomplished. Maj. R.M. Saxton, American know-how and togetherness Lt. Col. John F. Bessette, USAF (Ret.) can accomplish a great many things. Not USAF (Ret.) Katy, Tex. all dependents left for the States during Historian, Tactical Tanker Association project “Safe Haven.” Many opted to go Springfield, Va. Remembering Tet to and wait it out, my family being [Concerning John Correll’s article one of them. Ninety days later they came First Shirt “Tet,” January, p. 50] I am hardly the back to Wheelus, and we finished out our I retired as a first sergeant in Octo- first to suggest that one must view our tour. Given the chance, we would have ber 1989, assigned to the 485th EIG at

AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2008 5 Griffiss AFB, N.Y. (The Air Force believes Sandbox Sentries at the 30-year point in your career, your In the November 2007 Air Force brain turns to mush and your experience Magazine article “The Sandbox Sentries” diminishes.) I had the privilege of serving [p. 46], Marc Schanz shortchanged as a first shirt for nine years. I entered the 552nd ACW deployment time to the first sergeant career field as an E-8 Southwest Asia by about a decade. They Air Force Association selectee assigned to the 96th OMS at actually first deployed in late 1979 for 1501 Lee Highway • Arlington, VA 22209-1198 Dyess AFB, Tex. 24/7 monitoring of the -Iraq war. Their Telephone: (703) 247-5800 I wasn’t aware that in 2003, the Air last flight was about six months to a year Toll-free: (800) 727-3337 Force turned the first sergeant job into prior to Desert Shield. One wonders if a separate special duty assignment. Saddam Hussein would have gone into Press 1 if you know your party’s extension. The idea of keeping an individual out Kuwait if he knew we were still in Saudi Press 3 for Member Services. of his or her specialty for three to six Arabia monitoring the high ground. (For questions about membership, insurance, years is crazy. Not only do they lose Maj. David N. Griffiths, change of address or other data changes, proficiency in their specialty, they also USAF (Ret.) magazine delivery problems, or member may not have the incentive to excel as Yorktown, Va. benefit programs, select the “Member a first sergeant. Services” option.) I fully support returning the first ser- Editor’s Note: We knew of the previ- Or stay on the line for an operator to direct geant job to an Air Force Specialty Code. ous Saudi deployment, but the fact is, it your call. The first sergeant position is 24/7 from was not a part of the 13-year continuous the start. Within the first 90 days of my deployment. Fax: (703) 247-5853 arrival at Dyess, I had to contend with Internet: http://www.afa.org/ a suicide, drug busts in the bomber and Don’t Blame the Fighter Pilots tanker branches, and an ORI. Without Regarding Mr. Breidenbach’s letter the knowledge of career first sergeants in the January 2008 magazine [“That stationed at Dyess, I would have been Nuclear Safety Stand-down,” p. 4]: It is E-Mail Addresses totally lost. The first person supporting amazing how some still want to blame Field Services ...... fl[email protected] agencies on any base call is the first fighter pilots for everything under the shirt. I had more than my share of 0 sun that goes “wrong” in our Air Force. Government Relations ...... [email protected] dark 30 phone calls. Having served on active duty from 1968 Industry Relations ...... [email protected] Returning the first sergeant job to to 1991 and in civil service from 1992 an Air Force Specialty Code will mean to 2006, I can point to many factors Information ...... [email protected] the first sergeant will have the incen- that likely contributed to the apparent Member Services ...... [email protected] tive to learn and apply the necessary drop in standards—MAJCOMs losing knowledge to excel as a first sergeant. assignment control over their people Policy & Communications (news media) ...... He or she will not have to have the date (resulting in constantly having to retrain ...... [email protected] they are returning to their old career people in special skills), placing ever field always on their minds. First ser- younger officers and NCOs in charge of geants once again will compete only key operations without proper training/ Magazine with first sergeants for promotions, be preparation, the holy grail of TQM that Advertising ...... [email protected] able to rebuild that important support led us to scrap time-proven procedures structure of career first shirts who in favor of “innovation.” Remember when AFA National Report ...... [email protected] had been there and done that. Three the edict came out of the Pentagon that Editorial Offices ...... [email protected] years isn’t long enough to gain the “regulations” had to go away and their knowledge and experience needed replacements were not to be more than Letters to Editor Column...... [email protected] to do the job. a few pages in length? The plan was for CMSgt. Remo Moroni, “local” people to write procedures that USAF (Ret.) worked best for their “processes.” Unfor- Bellmead, Tex. tunately, many “old heads” said, “Don’t put too much in local OIs or directives Eaker Institute ...... [email protected] The picture on p. 66 reminds me of because the IG will hammer hard if you Air Force Memorial Foundation [email protected] a couple [of first sergeants] I met in don’t follow your own guidance.” How the ’50s. I was assigned to the 17th right the old heads were about the IG Medical Group at K-9 in 1952-53. Every part, but how shortsighted for the long- For individual staff members first initial, last name, @afa.org morning, a senior first sergeant was term training and effectiveness of the on the wooden platform in front of the upcoming Air Force generation. (example: [email protected]) tent with the questions, “Are you getting I remember as a young airman when mail? Have you written your mother?” I asked a question about a procedure or AFA’s Mission I wish I could remember his name rule the crusty old master sergeant said, because those questions have been “Go look it up,” and then would help me part of my life since. The second was a understand it once I found the guidance. To educate the public about the critical role sergeant with the 40th Medical Group By the 1990s most of the “procedural” of aerospace power in the defense of our at Smokey Hill. The day I turned 21, I directives were gone, so there was nation. asked for a Class A pass. He sat me almost nowhere to go to “look it up.” So down and gave me the father lecture don’t blame the fighter pilot “mentality” To advocate aerospace power and a strong national defense. on being an adult. That too has been for so much—there is plenty of fault to a lasting influence. Whatever they do, be found in other areas! To support the and they do it well. Maj. Rob Graves, the Air Force family. Deloy Spencer USAF (Ret.) Pleasant View, Utah Aransas Pass, Tex.

6 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2008