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Commander's perspective -- Taking care of our people, it's everyone's job

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Ben Vorhees
  • 315th Operations Support Squadron Commander
CHARLESTON AFB, SC --  It is easy to get bogged down in our mire of regulations, policies, procedures, in the deluge of software work-a-rounds and waivers to outdated rules that don't quite support the operational reserve of today.

Through a blistering ops-tempo sustained by a frustrated group of professionals committed to overcoming every obstacle seemingly deliberately laid in their path it is easy to lose sight of our product. That product is our people.

When you distill the very reason for an associate reserve unit to exist down to its essence, we train and maintain current and qualified military professionals; spelled: P-E-O-P-L-E. They are our export.

One of my exports is Senior Airman Lindsey Fleming. She is currently employing her newly acquired Aviation Resource Management skills supporting the Air Force's Haiti relief efforts at MacDill, AFB.

While I am sure she is working hard, it might seem like a vacation to her. You see, she just returned from Khandahar Air Base, Afghanistan where she had the privilege of enduring the deadliest four months in the history of the operation.

As a Command Staff liaison, she received accolades from her deployed commander for maintaining 100 percent personnel accountability during 12 base mortar attacks. I wonder if this is what her parents had in mind when they supported her enlistment into the Air Force Reserve.

I call her skills newly acquired because her date of enlistment is midway through 08, as in 2008. With her fledgling career less than 2-years-old, she has a deployment to the AOR under her belt and is on her second TDY. That is if you don't count basic training or technical school as TDY's.

Lindsey is representative of the type of contribution reservists are making. Approximately one-third of the 315th Operations Support Squadron is on active-duty supporting contingency operations around the world. A significant portion of them, like Lindsey, have less than 3 years of service and possess a rank below noncommissioned officer.

The demographics of the reserves are certainly changing. The fact that I consistently receive stellar feedback on these young patriots is a great tribute to our recruiters. We can't export a top quality product if we don't start with the best raw material.

If you have the privilege of supporting someone like Lindsey, remember, she is what we do and why we do it. So, whether you are facilitating her billeting needs, cutting her orders or processing her travel voucher, your level of performance will impact her quality of life, her quality of service and thusly, the quality of our only product.