Force Improvement Program to visit Whiteman

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Joel Pfiester
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Building upon the positive momentum of the ICBM Force Improvement Program, Air Force Global Strike Command is bringing the program to its bomber units, giving Whiteman Airmen the opportunity for their voices to be heard.

A Force Improvement Program team is scheduled to visit Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, June 18-20, to gather feedback and identify any challenges Airmen associate with performing bomber duties. FIP teams will also visit Barksdale and Minot AFB, and AFGSC bomber Airmen at Andersen AB, Guam, and Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota.

During their visits, the teams will conduct field surveys, leadership surveys and family surveys, personally interview Airmen across the bomb wing, and work with them to propose solutions.

"This is yet another opportunity for us to improve the way we do business in the nuclear community," Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, Air Force Global Strike Command commander, said. "Like the ICBM FIP, it will allow Airmen at all levels to provide honest feedback on issues facing their community, as well as proposals for solutions to those issues."

The teams are comprised of operations, maintenance, security forces, and mission support group members, as well as peers from outside the bomber community, including Airmen from other MAJCOMs and AFGSC missile wings.

After completing their round-robin base visits, the FIP team will assess the findings and recommendations from the field and provide a list of concerns and possible fixes across all the teams' functional areas. These will then be briefed directly to Wilson and Maj. Gen. Scott Vander Hamm, 8th Air Force commander, who will review the recommendations and make decisions on which field recommendations to implement.

As decisions are made, AFGSC leadership at every level will provide feedback to the field on their recommendations, and regular updates will be provided on force improvement program progress.

"This program is a growing process that has been strengthening the voice of all Airmen in Global Strike." Lt. Col. Russell Williford, FIP director, said. "It is, at its core, a program for its people, and Global Strike will be better because of the voice of its Airmen."