Commentary: Embracing errors: the endless pursuit of efficiency

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Dizzy Murphy
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Inspector General
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  As I reach the halfway point of my tour at RAF Mildenhall as the 100th Air Refueling Wing Inspector General, I have seen the change in thinking our Airmen are undergoing thanks to the shift in our Air Force Inspection System from being "inspection-ready" to "mission-ready." Even though a change in paradigm can be a slow process, it is a necessary one given our new mandate.

Nowhere can it be seen better than in our own unit inspections and Management Internal Control Toolkit.  I understand and acknowledge that MICT is not a program most would consider to be user-friendly, but it has been very useful for one thing: finding the red, or areas needing improvement.  We are seeing more and more areas where tweaks and fixes are needed, and taking steps toward correcting them. This is what the inspection system is all about.

At the same time, we must continue changing our mindset away from the "we must pass the inspection at all costs" thinking of yesterday. 

In a recent IG article, Maj. Gen. Scott Zobrist, Air Combat Command director of plans, programs and requirements, explained the new paradigm shift perfectly, "The new IG system encourages commanders to put capability above passing inspections."

The bottom line is that it's no longer about getting the minimum number of deficiencies which will determine whether you pass an inspection or not,  it's about whether or not you can detect risk, mitigate or eliminate risk and, most importantly, perform your mission. At the end of the day the message is clear - we must be more concerned about getting better rather than passing the inspection. The first piece (getting better) will take care of the second piece (passing the inspection).

In that same light, we must pursue efficiency relentlessly.  As the former commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, once said to his staff officers, "There should be no stupid rules in this command.  If you think a rule doesn't make sense or is inefficient, challenge it and try to change it."

Many times we have accepted things the way they are because that's the way it has always been, or because that's what the rulebook says.  However, when we recognize an opportunity to improve upon our processes and take action, we can potentially save time and money.

I'm not saying that we must change everything but with the current manning crunch and lower resources, we must search for processes which help us work smarter, not harder. We must thoroughly embrace the Square-D concept of constant innovation and improvement. 

Continuous Process Improvement and Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century are great programs to think outside the box and see what we are doing well and how we can advance.  The "Bloody Hundredth" is amongst the best in the Air Force at executing AFSO 21 events, but remember that you don't need an AFSO 21 event to make changes when needed. 

Our Air Force was built by people who challenged the system in the first place and didn't stand for simply accepting the status quo. We need to continue their legacy of pursuing efficiency in order to keep improving the best Air Force in the world.