U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The 10th Air Base Wing commander lit a match by unveiling new vision and mission statements to forge the wing’s way ahead, March 9 at his Arnold Hall commanders call.
Both statements anchor the road map Col. Shawn Campbell said was needed when he addressed the wing last fall. They are his first steps to integrate a deeper understanding and enthusiasm in airmen for the mission.
“People are like dynamite, the power is on the inside. But nothing happens until the fuse gets lit,” he said, “I want to light the fuses of enthusiasm and a give our Total Force Airmen a better understanding of Team Ten’s purpose.”
Campbell told the group the statements relay Team Ten’s mission to provide medical and mission platforms, military readiness and full-spectrum programs with elevated excellence, and that this mission is borne of their vision to provide the peak of support to the Academy.
The colonel announced his plans to revamp the mission and vision statements in October and assembled a tiger team -- specialists working on specific tasks -- to craft the wording in both.
“They will make it easier to move forward as we create our five-year plans, which are nearly finished.” he said.
The statements are part of his promise to encourage his 3,000-plus member workforce to intentionally embrace their individual roles.
Another method wing leadership is using to inspire airmen is Beyond Blue, a series of seminars to inspire Airmen to be better leaders. Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Buckman, the wing’s command chief, took the stage to explain the program in more detail.
Military education is often referred to as being “re-blued,” but that term only refers to meeting minimum standards, she said. Wing leadership had been looking for a way to excel past minimum standards and build stronger, more passionate team members.
“We unplugged them from cell phones and then we just talked,” Buckman said. “We talked about their relationships; not just with peers, but with subordinates, with other important connections in their lives. We asked what kinds of seeds those relationships are planting within them, and what seeds were they planting in others as well.”