JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center delivered solutions to challenges base-level leaders face at a forum May 14-16 in San Antonio.
The 2nd Annual Mission Support Leadership Summit provided a platform for support group commanders and senior enlisted superintendents to better understand the programs AFIMSC conducts to enable their missions.
Nearly 200 military and civilian Airmen participated in briefings, panel discussions and networking sessions to gain in-depth insight about the more than 150 centralized capabilities the center executes for the Air Force. Those functions include chaplain, civil engineering, communications, contracting, financial management, logistics readiness, public affairs, security forces and services programs that support 77 Air Force installations across the globe.
"We want this to be a collaborative dialogue, and we want to lean forward and help," said Maj. Gen. Brad Spacy, AFIMSC commander, at the summit kickoff. “We want your feedback, and we want to help you learn about the AFIMSC enterprise and strategize with you about how to do this job together.”
Since achieving full operational capability in 2016, AFIMSC has focused on transforming and streamlining its mission execution. The annual summit provides the opportunity to meet with customers in order to optimize the center’s Air Force-wide programs, said Chief Master Sgt. Brion Blais, AFIMSC command chief master sergeant.
"We need your expertise and your perspectives. We need to hear about what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong," Blais said.
Candid, in-person dialogue helps the AFIMSC team better understand issues in the field, said Maj. Andrew Moore, summit project officer.
"Everything revolves around how we can best support the warfighter," Moore said. "We invited every mission support group commander in the Air Force. We discussed topics all of them are facing or could be facing. We bring those issues back and use them as action items to make sure we're solving base-level challenges.”
Col. Jason Knight, 4th Mission Support Group commander at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., said the summit offered him the chance to discuss common issues with colleagues from across the force.
“It was a good opportunity to interact with my fellow commanders and command superintendents,” he said. “People asked different questions and it gave me insight into their challenges. Hearing the AFIMSC responses helped me better understand the overall situation and gave me things to take back and apply at my installation.”